


Finding Mister Biggles

by jaysbird



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Butters' parents are assholes, Celebrity Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Child Neglect, Drug Use, Eric Cartman Being Eric Cartman, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kenny being a good boy, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, My First Fanfic, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Stupid Spoiled Whores, Tweek is a Bunny shipper, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2020-03-05 11:59:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 53,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18828268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaysbird/pseuds/jaysbird
Summary: Paris Hilton is opening another store in a mall in some other podunk town in the American Northwest. She bought Butters ten years ago, and no one in South Park has seen him since... Until Kenny recognizes his face on some trashy tabloid at work. The only thing is no one really believes him. The girls don't recognize Butters, and who the hell even cares what Paris Hilton is up to anymore?





	1. The Tabloid

**Author's Note:**

> This is my FIRST EVER fanfiction. Please be gentle with me.

Paris Hilton is opening another store in a mall in some other podunk town in the American Northwest. She bought Butters ten years ago, and no one in South Park has seen him since... Until Kenny recognizes his face on some trashy tabloid at work. The only thing is no one really believes him. The girls don't recognize him, and who the hell even cares what Paris Hilton is up to anymore? 

Last they heard, she was being a Stupid, Spoiled, Whore, and so what? South Park has its own whore: Mister Slave. It's gross (why would they need another whore?), and just like Wendy's implants, after the initial "buzz" wore off, everyone forgot that anything happened. No one remembers anything important in South Park. Kyle is diabetic, but Kenny has never seen him take an insulin shot, check his blood sugar, or wear any kind of medical tag. Heidi carries on with her life like she NEVER had a relationship with Eric Cartman, and they don't act differently around each other, if they even interact at all. The New Kid appeared, then up and vanished twice in three years, and no one fucking remembers them. Kenny dies in front of his friends nearly every day, yet they act as though he just went home and NOTHING happened.

No one in South Park remembers anything, but that sure as shit looks like Butters' face on the guy walking next to Paris Hilton. Kenny would recognize those eyes anywhere, even if the print of the tabloid isn't doing the details justice. That expression on Butters' face while he's bowing his head slightly is reminiscent of the times he'd been scolded. This older Butters isn't knocking his knuckles together, but he's wringing his hands. It's a pretty notable gesture that Kenny can't forget. He purchases the trashy excuse for a magazine and clocks out from his shift at the Dollar Store to head into town and see if anyone recognizes Butters.

They don't. More people are curious what Paris Hilton is up to now, not that she adopted some kid back when she was a party animal some ten years ago. The girls have told him she's not popular anymore, and instead she's kind of the reason Kim K. got so popular. Kenny doesn't care about that, but he's a good listener, and it's one of the many reasons why the girls like him. He hangs around in the hopes of catching a hint about their old classmate and instead hears about how Paris Hilton sold perfume and what their favorite perfumes were. Kenny stopped caring at about that time and looked back at the photo to find anything he might have missed. Her tits didn't look that great, so he doesn't plan on keeping the picture for himself. That guy next to her is apparently engaged to her, and there's a mention that she has an adopted son. Unfortunately, Butters isn't really the meat of the article anyways. Kenny is just too curious, since Butters seems well, and obviously older. He's still seemingly traveling with Paris, but is he living with her? Has he gone to school? Is he still going, or is he in college? 

Despite the financial situation at home (or lack thereof), Kenny has plans to go to Community College. He's not had great grades in High School, but they weren't terrible either. He wants to go for his own reasons, but mostly to set a good example for Karen and prove to his parents that he can make something of himself. Kevin didn't go, and according to his dad, he turned out okay. Kenny thinks he's surviving since he moved out, but he wouldn't say he turned out "okay". He's got some freedom, so there's that. Good on him. His mom says College is a waste of money. Maybe it is, but Kenny's working a few jobs before enrolling so he can afford everything for the first steps. He'll have to work around a school schedule after that, but he hopes to build a solid foundation with his current positions at work. It's not much. He knows it isn't, but he's got to take baby steps. Kenny will cross the "attending college bridge" when he gets to it. He's not been living a luxurious life, and he knows how well he can survive off next to nothing. He'll live. He always, eventually, does.

So until he can find the time to go to the library and browse the internet to look up more about Paris Hilton, he's going to leave the tabloid from the Dollar Store at home, eat half a pop-tart, and change his shirt for his second job. Since he's got most of tomorrow off, he'll do some research then.

His second job is at Tweek Bros. Coffee. With Tweek getting older, he's spending more time on his schoolwork, and probably his longstanding relationship with Craig, so the Tweak family needs another set of hands at the shop. Kenny doesn't mind, as he's not in a rush for his future. He'd be as eager to get out of the house as Kevin was, but he's not just going to abandon Karen without having considered what he can do for her while he's making an income. Luckily, with him turning eighteen, his parents don't get to touch his income. He knows they still claim him as a dependent on their taxes, and they could kick him out, but he honestly does help bring home some literal and metaphorical bacon. There's just some he keeps tucked away so he can get his own roof and eventually put Karen under it where he knows she'll be safe. For now, he's happy to keep working at the only Dollar Store in town, and cover some of Tweek's shifts. What with Kenny's previous experience working illegally in the food industry, and his eagerness to do well, he's got a good knack for keeping the shop clean, and he's a people-person. Tweek still works, and is definitely more a coffee-person, than a people-person, but he knows what he's doing. He's explaining what kombucha is to an elderly woman when Kenny walks in, and he thinks it sounds like he's trying to make it sound worse than it is. It tastes awful, though, he admits, but that can't be good for business.

"If you like to -ngh- drink vinegar, then go ahead. It's uh... all natural?" Tweek looks over at Kenny during the later half of his sorry excuse for a pitch with an expression that pleads for some assistance.

Kenny graciously steps in, trying to come across as conversational. "I like the coconut lime flavor. Cuts back on the acidity, so it's smooth. And this-" Kenny grabs a bottle on the way past a small cooler to offer it to the woman to read. "Is root beer flavored. It's another one where you'd expect it to hit hard, but it doesn't taste so medicinal." He watches the woman cringe in disgust at the culture floating about like someone left snot at the bottom of the drink. She hands it back, and Kenny figures he's thirsty and doesn't want coffee. It's got trace alcohol in it and it's supposed to be good for you because of live cultures or some shit like that.... so why not? 

"Here," He opens the bottle and the initial fizz is remarkably loud, then he pours out a small bit in a cup before handing it to her. "If you don't like it, you don't have to buy it." Kenny raises a hand to notify Tweek that it's alright. He'll just buy it if she changes her mind. Clearly, she does, as she makes a disgusted expression and shakes her head, turning it away to swallow politely before collecting her takeaway cup and leaving.

"Sorry 'bout that." Kenny says as he watches her leave and puts on his apron. 

Tweek takes his off and moves to hang it up. "No, it's okay. She wouldn't -ah- stop asking about everything. It's like... She's never been in a coffee shop, man! She didn't even know what a pour-over was!"

"Yikes," Kenny replies as he washes his hands and moves to collect ice for a large water drink canister on the side counter. Tweek Bros hasn't changed too much since he'd first been in as a kid. There are more plants, some fairy lights. It's definitely taken on some nice atmospheric changes suggested by Tweek's millennial (and maybe gay according to Richard Tweak), taste. Kenny couldn't keep any plant alive, but it seems that the ones that litter the space of the shop love it here, and he appreciates them. Maybe he'll get some kind of plant for Karen as a gift after his next paycheck. It'd have to be something indoor, since the homeless in Sodosopa would probably destroy it one way or another. He's so busy with that train of thought that he hasn't noticed Tweek move to sit at the side of the counter used by regulars. It's got some nice sturdy bar stools, and Tweek's going through the tabloid Kenny had brought in (even though he left it at home. whoops. It's here now).

"Is that Butters?!" He nearly shouts, causing Kenny to look over and grin at him.

"Thank god you noticed. I was beginning to think maybe I just made him up," Kenny chuckles and makes to move towards Tweek until a patron comes in. While he's pulling the coffee they've ordered, Tweek is pulling out his phone and doing some digging to find out more. He's frowning when Kenny looks over, which can't be that bad a sign, right? Tweek and Butters didn't get along, but they weren't exactly enemies or rivals, either. Kenny thinks they probably just tolerated each other, like most everyone in South Park does. Kenny wouldn't say he and Tweek are close, either. Kenny just knows he's easy to get along with in general. When he's finished with the coffee and back at the counter, Tweek seems to be muttering something about, of all things, Bradley Biggle.

"Says here he goes by Butters Biggles..." Tweek mutters, then looks up. His expression is as equally confused as Kenny feels. "That's him, but what's -Argh! with the name?"

"I don't know... it'd make more sense if it was Butters Hilton, right?" Kenny says as he moves to clean some of the dishes leftover by previous patrons. He doesn't want to loom over Tweek's shoulder, reading his phone for the information he's googling. Plus, it's easier for him to think things through if he's busy. There are still too many questions, and Kenny sighs. The patron he'd served earlier is heading out, phone up to their ear and leaving them to their discussion in relative privacy.

"Maybe? I thought his parents sold him-" Tweek twitches, and it's tense, but there's no noise to accompany the action. After a minute of his left eye blinking, he glances about. "I heard they went to live up in Ass-pen?" Tweek isn't sure if he's pronouncing it right, but finds it mildly amusing and grins up at the other blonde replacing his shift work. "Something about getting into the Timeshare business... Looks like they've taken that over."

Kenny frowns as he works on the dishes. Butters' parents sold him for $250 million. They shouldn't be in any business, and should go die in a fire, in Kenny's honest and very humble opinion. "Is the new shop that's opening up anywhere close by?" He doubts that Butters hangs around Paris all the time, but maybe he could get her his number or something? Maybe pass a note along?

"Hey! Actually yeah! It's -nnh- it's in Denver!"

It's too good to be true! Kenny knows he shouldn't get his hopes up, but he also knows that he _can_ and _will_ find a way to see an old friend. Maybe Butters has forgotten about everyone in South Park, and maybe it's better that way considering the kind of abuse everyone knew he'd gone through. Kenny thinks he might have to talk to the guys to see about making plans. Stan was always pretty cool about Butters, so he wonders if he'll want to catch up, too. Kyle is a maybe, considering Kenny is sure Butters annoyed him. Cartman... well, Kenny knows it's a bad idea to get him involved, but it wouldn't be difficult. He'd just have to point out the fact that Butters is living with a billionaire. Money usually gets Cartman's interest.

"Should we go see him?" Tweek asks, a knowing look in his eyes. He's always suspected that Kenny had some feelings for Butters. Kenny has dipped his wick in most everything in South Park, but he doesn't talk about future sexual encounters with the same kind of longing he talks about seeing Butters. When Kenny talks about him, it sounds romantic. If Kenny sees someone new in town, then he's just looking for some fling. He's casual about everything that isn't Karen or Butters, apparently. Those two he seems to feel some obligation towards, which Tweek finds admirable. He's a good big brother, and a caring friend. He'd love to see an interaction between Kenny and the guy he's always denied being hung-up over.

Kenny isn't sure how he feels about the idea of seeing Butters. He turns his head to look over and answer when he notices that Craig has come in. Tweek catches his expression change and glances over to the door first with curiosity, then pleasant realization. He goes from his occasional twitching to a complete calm, as far as Kenny can tell. Hell, he knows Tweek looks forward to Craig's attention so much, he might just be vibrating instead. With a snicker, he moves to start on a fresh brew of coffee.

"See who, babe?" Craig asks casually as he greets his boyfriend with a hug. Tweek beams and then returns to the bar seats to show him the tabloid with a grin.

"What?" He looks over the cover, but obviously isn't interested. "Who is Paris Hilton? Why would you want to see her?" Craig looks confused, but also bored. Kenny's pretty sure his face is stuck like that, though.

"She's super rich, Craig!"

"I heard about her when we were kids... What does she do, again?" He flips the cover of the tabloid. There are some obviously fake reported crop circles, and some really out there articles. He leaves the page opened to something about a celebrity having a long lost twin.

"She's totally spoiled and snobby!"

"She used to be, anyways," Kenny adds in as he comes around with a takeaway cup of hot chocolate in one hand for Craig, and a coffee for Tweek in the other.

"Okay, so? What does she _do_?" Craig's patience is running out, but the hot chocolate is good enough reason to put up with this a little longer. He takes a sip and looks at his boyfriend while giving Kenny a middle-finger to let him know he made his drink correctly.

"She's a whore." Tweek says as though that's all the explanation needed, and there isn't much else to say. Craig just looks over at Kenny with an understanding glint in his eye. He's probably assuming some things about Kenny being something of a whore, himself, and Paris Hilton. Then he remembers that Tweek said something about going to see her, too, when he walked in and caught their conversation.

"Tweek, why do you want to see a whore?"

"Because Kenny wants to." And he's a supportive friend who is also curious about seeing Butters.

"Well, of course Kenny would want to see a whore."

"Woah, dude. Did you even look at the article?! She's like, twice my age!" Kenny slides it over and closes it to show off the cover photo. "More than that, actually!"

"I just want to go to be supportive." Tweek mutters.

Craig gives him an understanding smile and puts an arm around him, giving him a quick kiss to his temple. "I figured, honey."

Kenny just stares at them, and scoffs. "Look, I'm not trying to drag Tweek to a party or anything." They all know Tweek doesn't like parties. Kenny thinks he's fun at them, but that's only if he goes. He's turned down attending so many, Kenny never sincerely expects him. He's not the kind of person to pressure him, though. There are no hard feelings, and it makes Kenny feel like a mediator or ambassador between the two groups of friends. The fact that he's something of a social chameleon lends him to more gossip. It helps him stay out of a lot of shit, and considering he dies so much, he's glad to have an advantage. 

Still, Craig looks at him suspiciously. Craig is the leader of his group of friends, and Stan is the leader of Kenny's. He needs to make sure that Tweek won't end up in Peru, or turned into a whore. Anything that has to do with Stan and those asshats smells like trouble.

"Actually, I was thinking of going on my own. Tweek just seemed interested in-"

"Why wouldn't I? Look, Craig! It's -ah!- it's Butters!" Tweek points right at him, finger covering some of him.

Craig stops staring Kenny down like he can magically see through bullshit, and turns his attention to the tabloid again. "What? So?"

"I just want to see how he's doing, dude. That's all." Kenny offers.

"You going to try and get money from him?" Craig asks tactlessly.

Kenny actually glowers at him, and Tweek lets out a groan. Everyone knows not to bring up Kenny's financial status like they know better than to call Tweek a spaz. "Ohmy God-GAWd _Craig_!" Tweek yells angrily and takes his boyfriend's hot chocolate away from him, setting it down on the counter with a dull thud.

"Are you fucking serious, Craig?" Kenny asks with a sigh. He'd be more insulted, but he can see that Tweek is going to Let Him Have It. He turns around to continue his work and let Tweek stand up for him. Craig probably didn't even think about or care how that comment would make him feel. Whatever. Cartman's given him worse shit for being poor. 

"You know as well as I do that he's working really h-AH! Hard to help his family, and Kenny's not a charity case! How the-!" Tweek takes another breath so he can fire off more anger at his boyfriend, who's got both hands up in a disarming fashion. There's not much guilt in his expression, but it's clear he'd rather Tweek not get to the point where he's sharing his own financial struggles with the world. Kenny's decent enough to try to focus on picking a different Spotify playlist for the coffee shop, wandering into the backroom while the one-sided argument moves on. He hears bits and pieces, trying to figure out when is a good time to save Craig embarrassment. 

"Babe, he and those other assholes took my birthday money so they could start up a-"

"AH! That happened when we were kids!"

"Yeah, but they use people! They always have!"

"No, that's Cartman!"

"No, that's all of them! Kenny-" 

Oh, he can't wait to hear this. Kenny walks back out and leans against the door to the backroom, watching them, but also keeping an eye out for customers. Craig's argument seems to die in his throat as their eyes meet from over Tweek's shoulder.

"Kenny _what_ , Craig?!"

"Mostly." Craig sighs. "Yeah, it's Cartman." He looks over at Kenny, then down. Maybe that's as good an apology as he can deliver. Kenny's not too bothered, though, and walks up to the counter again.

"He's very convincing. Especially when it comes to money. But like I said, dude. I just want to see how he's doing. It must have been tough, with his parents selling him and all. I bet he doesn't even have friends." Kenny looks down at the tabloid, and Craig does too. Butters still looks as timid as he did when he was a kid. It's odd to see that on someone their age. Most everyone from their class has a backbone. Craig doesn't remember Butters acting like he had one.

"Ah shit..." Tweek mutters while looking at his phone. It seems that with Kenny coming back, he doesn't need to fight anymore. He's just browsing his phone again. "We -nh- can't go anyways, Kenny."

Craig doesn't seem disappointed, he just looks over at the phone. Kenny hands him the hot chocolate Tweek had taken from him.

"Why's that?" Kenny asks.

"The opening day for the store is our anniversary."


	2. Kenny's Fairy Godmother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started and can't stop, apparently! Yaaaay what is a healthy writing pace? Next Chapter is from Butter's perspective!

Kenny didn't have his heart set on Tweek and Craig going with him to see Paris Hilton, so hearing they'll be celebrating their anniversary is hardly a disappointment. He smiles kindly and reassures Tweek that it's not a problem.

Even with him saying that, Tweek look apologetic and shakes his head, "Kenny! You're covering my shift that day! Remember? Ah-! Oh god! I'm sorry, man!"

Craig puts his hand on Tweek's shoulder to comfort him as they watch the realization hit Kenny enough to drop his smile only slightly. It's not Tweek's fault that they discovered this date last minute, and Kenny doesn't expect them to put off such an important celebration. He laughs and waves off the concern lingering between them. Tweek pouts, but he seems to be listening and not willing to accept that Kenny is going to have to miss seeing their old friend after so long.

"You guys made plans way before I saw this," Kenny points at the tabloid. "Your relationship comes first. I don't even have one!" He grins as though that statement is him embracing a freedom he never realized he had. It just makes Tweek frown harden before pulling his phone back out. He mutters something about how he's not going to let Kenny miss a chance, and then about the 'stupid coffee shop.' He types on his phone, Craig reading over his shoulder before he looks up to at Kenny. 

"You're not going to be working that day. I'll talk to my parents." He nods. It's final, apparently.

"Tweek, you don't have to!" Kenny isn't worried about his income, but this is a bit sudden, if not very supportive. Tweek is a nice guy (and apparently a Bunny shipper), so he should have expected this.

"You're off the day after, too."

"Woah! Lack of planning on my part should not constitute an emergency for you!"

"The next day too? Okay!" Tweek grins at him, using those days off as a threat. Craig puts a hand to his forehead and rubs, pushing his chullo up slightly as he gives a little groan. Tweek nearly giggles while his expression goes mischievous. "It'll be nice to have the house to ourselves for once!" To that, Craig blushes but can't help his silent agreement. While his parents are supportive of their relationship, there's no way that he and Tweek could have time alone together at his house. There's his family and his guinea pigs, and it's just too embarrassing and distracting.

"You can have a few days off so you can see Butters." Tweek says, his expression kind as Kenny bashfully accepts. No doubt Mr.Tweak will listen to his son if he brings up another same-sex couple in relation to the shop, and how connections to a celebrity could really get Tweek Bros. Coffee the attention it deserves. His mom won't need any convincing, as she's supportive of his relationship with Craig and if it makes Tweek happy, it generally makes her happy too.

"Well, thanks." Kenny won't be rude, but he is a little stunned. This is all happening a little fast, and he doesn't even have any information aside from the tabloid. He's trying to curb his optimism. What if he can't even talk to Paris?

Tweek takes Craig's hand in one of his own, and the coffee in the other before moving to the door. He looks over his shoulder and smiles at Kenny, "You're welcome! I'll text you stuff, okay?" Then he's talking to Craig enthusiastically as they both walk out.

What the hell is 'stuff'? Kenny's watching them, sighs again with longing he's not even recognizing he feels, and then his phone goes off. How did Tweek text him with his hands full? Maybe Craig is holding his coffee... seems like something he'd do. Kenny's phone plan doesn't support much in the way of internet capabilities, but Tweek's taken screenshots of information regarding Butters, including the address of the shop and more details. 

So, the tabloid was wrong. Those weren't real crop circles, and apparently, there are some people that look like celebrities, but aren't their twins. Go figure the facts about Paris's new shop are wrong too, but Kenny isn't disappointed. She's not opening a new shop. There's a new perfume line launching. Every single one launching is named after candy, and he browses curiously until finding an affordable body spray labeled 'Butterscotch Apple'. Maybe he'll go there for the launch, and pick that up for Karen? Sounds like a better spontaneous gift than a plant.

After the walls of texts and screenshots, there are a few pictures of Butters. He seems to be taller, but not too lanky, and he's toned, but not like Kenny. By comparison, they seem like total opposites. Butters' hair is in a clean, faded undercut and seems sun-bleached, whereas Kenny's is a mess of golden straw-blonde waves and straight strands. Butters looks healthy, and judging by all the dogs he's with in the pictures, Kenny can only assume he's something of Paris Hilton's pet caretaker. Dog-walker? Something like that. There's a particularly good picture of him with a chihuahua strapped into a baby carrier stretched across his chest. His arms look good in the turquoise polo-shirt he's wearing, and the dog is the most spoiled animal Kenny has ever seen. They're in California, and this isn't some photo set. It's paparazzi pictures, and the attention seems mostly focused on the dogs. While Kenny is browsing the pictures he's been sent, he fails to notice a customer walk in, and has to tuck his phone away. It'll be easier to take a vacation if he's in the Tweaks' good graces.

Once his shift is over, he's at home on his beat-up laptop, researching more about Butters and the release of the new perfume line. There's a cute blonde woman in some of those perfume photos, and she looks remarkably similar to Butters, Kenny thinks. As he's scrolling through, Karen walks into his room with some microwaved leftover mac n' cheese. She takes a seat next to him on his old ~~bed~~ mattress.

"Who're you looking at?" She asks before taking a bite of her food, then passes it to Kenny.

"Do you remember Butters?" Kenny replies as he takes a bite with the same fork right after.

"What?!" Karen snatches the laptop right out of Kenny's lap. "No way!" She scrolls, then looks back at her brother, "Kenny! He's gotten so cute!"

Kenny chuckles and trades her the food for the laptop. "Yeah. He has, hasn't he?" He opens up a bigger picture so Karen won't have to steal the laptop again. "Think I should go see him? See what he's up to?"

Karen must already assume that Butters lives in California, because her expression is troubled for a moment. Kenny takes care of her, but she's older now, and he works too hard. He's probably thinking about staying with her rather than do something for himself. "Of course! You need a vacation, and he was always really nice! I'm sure he'd love if you were to visit him!"

How does Karen know that Butters is nice? Kenny doesn't really remember them ever interacting, but she's not wrong. He won't deny what she's saying. "I have to meet him first. I haven't seen him since you were this big," He holds his hand a foot above the dingy floor, making Karen giggle and shove him before taking another bite of their shared dinner.

"You've got to get a makeover first," She points at him with the fork.

Kenny takes a bite after her, then hands the fork back. He looks himself over for a moment. Beat up jeans, a faded t-shirt with a few holes near the left armpit. His orange hoodie is hanging on the doorknob to his room, and that's got stains on it from god-knows-what. His hair is an untamed mess, but tangle-free since it's not been windy outside. "I look good. Always do."

"You're trying to charm a rich boy, not a rat." Karen says with the shake of her head. "For starters, take a shower." She shouldn't have to tell her brother to do that, but he's always a little bit gross after work.

"What? You don't think he'll like my dirty hair? I need a man who will love me for me, dirt and all!" He says, putting a hand to his chest and feigning hurt at her.

"Kenny! If you don't clean yourself up and get some nice clothes, I'm going to cut your hair off so badly that only a buzzcut will save it." She grins. He knows she's not kidding. Just a few months ago, she'd given herself a little buzzed undercut by her ear. She knows how to use his clippers.

"I have nice clothes." He says, which use to be the truth. It's not his fault that the same accidents that kill him usually ruin his clothes.

"No you don't! **I** do! I'll go to the Thrift Store with Tricia and we'll pick you out something nice, okay?" She pulls her phone out to text the other girl about this emergency.

Before she can get the phone unlocked, Kenny throws his arms around her, "Oh my goodness!" he exclaims happily, spilling some of the cheese sauce from their dinner on his bed.

Karen yells in surprise and giggles loudly as he blows a wet raspberry against her neck. "Ew-! Kenny! Gross!!" 

"Thank you, fairy godmother!" He laughs and pulls away from her, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes at her. She wipes her neck with one hand and takes another bite of mac n' cheese. 

"You're so gross! You got cheese on my neck..." She grumbles, unable to be too upset since she knows that her brother really is very happy with her. Kenny takes the fork from her and finishes off the second to last bite. "Hey, don't eat it all!" She complains.

Kenny grins, not bothering to wipe the cheese smeared over his mouth or to lick out the pepper between his teeth. "Yes I am! It's part of my charm, Karen."

"You couldn't charm a pig."

"Karen McCormick! Don't you insult Butters like that!"

"So you like him?" Karen's looking pretty smug about it.

"What's not to like?" Kenny nudges his head at the photo he left open. "Also, I like everybody."

"Yeah, but you like like him."

"I like like everybody."

"Okay, well _clearly_ he's out of your league. Let's make him like like you!"

"Fine. You get to pick out one outfit for me. I'll take a shower, and in a week I'll take a bus to Denver and sweep him off his feet."

"Get a haircut too, since you can almost put it up into a ponytail. And I'm thinking twenty dollars will cover the outfit. You've got a week?" She pulls her phone back up and groans at him. "I thought you were going to California, not Denver..."

"I'm not going to look like a fuckboy. How about just a trim? Then you can still braid it!"

"Deal. We're gonna make you look like a model. Do you have time off?"

"I've got most of tomorrow, then the entire day after. Does that give you and the rest of the makeup crew enough time to get me ready for my big scene?"

"Yes. Now go shower while I try to convince Trish' to help." Karen gets up and gives her brother a kiss on his forehead. She knows she has him wrapped around her finger when he gets up and makes his way there without any fuss. The water heater is busted, so it's cold, but at least he won't smell like body odor and cheese.


	3. That Chris Zylka fella

"There there, Mister Biggles. I'm sure she didn't mean it," the limo driver tries to reassure Butters. He's been crying in the back seat for the past five minutes, working himself up over and over thanks to a phone conversation with his mother.

He'd told them he'd be coming to visit them over a month ago, and they only told him just now that they don't want to see him. No one wants to see him! This was a horrible idea.

"S-She did! They don't live there anymore! The Denver launch is pointless!" He blubbers. Butters knows he isn't a pretty crier, but how else is he supposed to act? He's not spoiled for wanting to see his parents! It's been so long! "It's been t-t-ten yeeaaaaars!" He wails miserably. He was looking forward to seeing them more than anything! 

The driver has stopped trying to comfort him. It seems the young man in the back of the vehicle is inconsolable. Butters pulls out a flask of scotch and nurses it, hoping the alcohol will help. That's what Paris used to do when she was sad. Or when she wasn't. But if he was, she'd give him some. Enough so he'd shut up and maybe go to sleep. He sniffles and wipes his face before looking out the window at the scenery.

The mountains make him feel a little better, but it's not like there aren't any he can see in California. He can go anywhere and see any mountain he wants, but it's the only constant he thinks about. They look cold and unreachable, but they're there. They stood there when he was a kid, and unlike his parents, they're there now. 

But that's pathetic, right? To compare parents to mountains. He feels a little more annoyed by his parents' failure. Why should he have to go to Denver for a launch when it would be more fun to go to one _anywhere_ else? 

Denver isn't exciting. Colorado isn't exciting, and his parents don't live in South Park anymore. Of course they wouldn't! They're probably living comfortably without him somewhere else. His mom wouldn't even tell him where they'd gone, and now he's headed back towards South Park for what feels like no reason. He doesn't want to go there. Butters doesn't exactly have a ton of happy memories regarding that stupid mountain town. There's a powerful urge to call everything off and just get right back on a plane to California. But... Paris doesn't want him around, either.

Butters likes to think of himself as an optimist, and he's thoughtful... and kind of considerate. If he were to call this whole ordeal off, then he'd be wasting everyone's time. There's nothing in the lavish space Paris calls home for him. It's all material, and right now, he just wishes he could forget his heartbreak in the copious amounts of alcohol he'd been given.

  


He used to be a cheerful, happy kid growing up... Why can't he just buck up like he used to?

If he'd never gotten into a stranger's limousine, he could have just grown up with the rest of his friends. Butters is lonely. It didn't take him too long to figure out that he would never be able to raise the money it would cost to get his parents back. You can't buy parents, anyways. So, he had to make the best out of a bad situation. Butters isn't the kind of person to give up! No sir! Not him! He'd done his best to make sure that there was no way Paris would ever want to sell him! Once the impact of what had happened settled in, and he was traveling to Paris' home, he'd been obviously upset. Maybe embarrassingly so, but his embarrassment seemed to make Paris pretty happy. He hadn't cried until he'd been in private, because if he'd ever cried around his parents, his dad always promised to give him something to cry about. He just had to think of this as a new experience, even if it made him feel awful lonely to be taken away from his home.

It was a good thing Paris found him so cute. She just tended to avoid him if he ever got glum. Considering she was one of the only people who paid him much attention, he was constantly after it. Butters was going to be the best accessory for her. He'd be cute, and happy, and helpful. All of her old pets had killed themselves in one way or another, and while that was a real big, real scary thing to think about, Butters was just going to... _not_ think about it. He was going to do everything he could to stay cheery.

Paris spoiled him rotten as a pet. She got him a giant dog bed more lavish than anything he'd ever seen, and it was definitely more soft than what his parents had for him back in South Park. She had him dressed in the softest costumes, and would have him wear the most ostentatious accessories. If there was ever an animal costume Butters didn't want to wear, he'd just ruin it. Butters would "try" to paint his nails, and spill nail polish all over the costume, or he'd put on her makeup, and _accidentally_ stain it. Paris was always so tickled by his interests that she'd just give him a new costume.

As he got older, that started to change. He went from being her personal accessory, to an accessory of her fortune and her house. Butters worked with her maid and her cook, and accompanied her to salon appointments. Costumes didn't fit him anymore, so he'd have to go out shopping with Paris. She'd test out makeup on him, and they'd explore fashion together. They got their nails done together, and were the best of friends. She'd confide in him all her dreams as her interest moved towards music, then to acting. She was a terrible actor, but Butters was supportive. He could dance, and he liked to do so in order to cheer her up. They would sing together, and explore different fashion trends. He felt like a son to her! It was the best time of his life, he thought.

And then his voice changed, and he started to get taller, and she was less interested in him. He was becoming a man, rather than her sweet little pet. Also, he liked boys. He told her, and she wasn't surprised, considering he'd never taken advantage of her during all of her time partying. He'd always stayed away from anyone she was interested in, to be respectful. He didn't even bother to interact with them, and most were one-night-stands.

Knowing he was gay didn't make her love him any less, Butters figured. He did find out though, that she felt threatened about him being possible competition.

Not that he was old enough to want to date, or anything. He was comfortable with _her_ attention, but it was slipping away. In an effort to prevent that, and to convince her to keep him around, he got her a dog. Then he got her another, and another. Paris couldn't care for animals, though. He's just glad she bought him when he was old enough to know how to do vital adult things his parents taught him, like cleaning up the house, and alphabetizing the kitchen pantry. He had the internet, and her credit card. He'd figure out how to stay in her good graces! 

The dogs were great, and kept him company, but they weren't really _his_. They couldn't talk to him, and offer any emotional support. Butters knew that Paris was concerned about her image, so he wouldn't go talking about her to the people that usually approached him for gossip. He'd just take on some of the housework, and try his best to be something of a good... son? to her. 

Looking back on it now, he thinks he did pretty well for himself. He's an adult now, and she treats him like a person when/if they ever spend any time together. He's got a mirror out and is looking over his reflection. It's thanks to her money that he looks good. 

She'd be ashamed of him, otherwise. His skin is flawless, but the tan he'd gotten with her recently has already faded. The crying has made him a bit blotchy, but he feels justified for having his feelings. 

But he feels _ugly_ right now. Despite his cute round face, his perfect straight teeth, his clean cut hair, and the gems sparkling on his ears, he feels like anyone would be ashamed of him. Paris is a diamond, and he's just some cubic zirconium. Sure, he sparkles like her, because that's what the money does, but he knows he's not worth much.

He's always been a bit worried about how he looked, trying to keep Paris' favor. His vision deteriorated outside of South Park for some reason. It was fine after Kenny had accidentally got him in the eye with a ninja star, and healed up perfectly. But as soon as he was out of South Park, it was going dark, and his depth perception was ruined. Paris had got him a new eye. It's really convincing, and he's got a scar that she thinks looks bad. It cuts through his eyebrow right at the arch, over his lids, and stops just before his cheek. Butters doesn't want and will not get plastic surgery to fix it. No matter how many times she's told him he could be pretty with it gone, and has helped him hide it with makeup. He kind of likes his edgy scar, and since he's doing his own thing, he's not wearing makeup. Butters will enjoy his time away from her for once, even if all he has is a bunch of little reasons that don't help much in the battle against his loneliness. She'd been supportive of him working on releasing this new fragrance line, but she'd obviously wanted space from him. Ever since she fell for that Chris Zylka fella, she's not wanted to be around anyone else.

They're engaged, and Butters feels pretty forgotten. He'll just have to keep his chin up, think positive... and a refill on his flask wouldn't hurt.

Now that he feels he doesn't have to really impress her so much, and that he's old enough, he should be getting out of her hair, he should be thinking about himself.

He's not used to that. When he thinks about it, Butters never wanted to look nice for other people. He misses doing things for himself. It feels good to have freedom and he's making money. Paris has allowed that, and given him a lot to spend. Maybe this trip to Denver won't be a waste. He can have a good time! Yeah! 

  


Maybe he can party later and forget his worries from earlier. The alcohol is helping, kind of. He feels a little bit happier, knowing he has something new to look forward to. He'll party. It doesn't even matter where. Even if it's just some small-time club. 

He's not going to ask the driver to take him anywhere yet. Whatever happens, happens, and he'll try to have a good time. It's the real reason he should be going anywhere, he thinks. Not his parents! He should do this for himself! Butters will make some plans for the evening. Definitely the evening... after the sun has gone down. It'd be lame to party this early in the morning. The sun just rose something like an hour ago, anyways. Gee, the driver probably didn't want to hear him get so upset so early into their trip.

"I'm real sorry..."

The driver doesn't reply. He's probably not even listening anymore.

"And awful embarrassed. Geez..." Butters cleans his face some more and pulls out his phone, browsing it with one hand as the other goes to open a bottle of vodka. He could make a mixed drink, but he's feeling too lazy. He'll just work on the bottle and drink it straight, even if it does taste gross.

The store launching the new fragrance is inside a mall, and it won't be open until 9. This car ride is taking _forever_ even though they've been in the car for maybe thirty minutes.

"Why do they open so early?" He yawns and flips through a few envelopes in the pockets of his denim jacket. Maybe some ecstacy will help make his night better? Butters rubs his eyes and pulls out his I.D. It's fake of course, but he won't really need it to get drinks or into a club. Not when he's got Paris as a connection. 

"It's no fun." As they pull up to the mall, he finds to his dismay that it isn't even a little crowded. The vehicles in the lot are mostly those that belong to the employees. The drive wasn't long enough for him to get hammered and make the morning forgettable, but he can remedy this by downing as much of the bottle as possible until the limo parks. He scribbles the name of the club he'll be attending on several of the envelopes, and kisses each one before pocketing them. If he's going to be a whore -which is the only way to party, if Paris has taught him anything at all- he's got to start early and put the 'bait' out there.

  


The vodka does a decent enough job, making the launch a blur. Butters has his picture taken, but there's very little excitement over him. People were expecting Paris Hilton, after all. Not this drunk guy with an annoying giggle who's occasionally complaining about how he needs Harbucks and alcohol.

There's only one person there who seems interested in him. Butters doesn't know if he showed up for the launch, is trying to get some gossip on Paris, or is just some creep. He's not bad looking, so even if he is a creep, Butters would happily hop into a bed with him. He's got some gentle honey brown eyes above sun-kissed cheeks, a dimple in one of them, and a cute little gap to his front teeth when he smiles. He's also got a nice, strong-looking build like he can handle weight on top of him. Butters is thinking about how he wants to put his weight on top, under, or next to him... really anywhere else this blonde man wants it. He's shorter than Butters, and not by much, but that just means to him that he'll be spunky. Butters likes that. He likes this guy, and considering he hasn't seen anyone else this interested in him, he plays a bit coy.

Which, of course his stupid bodyguard, Lola, sees as Butters avoiding him purposefully. The attractive stranger is clearly interested in him, too, but Lola won't give him much room to say anything. She's got so much of her attention on this guy and his intentions, that she hasn't picked up on the fact that Butters has intentions of his own. He moves to get into his vehicle and notices that she's gotten closer to him. Why? She has her own stupid car that she rides in.

Oh! The man he's been eyeballing has the guts to try and get closer despite his bodyguard.

"Lola! Get in the car, stupid!" Butters watches a little stare-down between them before Lola is doing as he's told her, and then the attractive stranger is approaching him.

Oh, yes. _Come here_ , Butters thinks hungrily as he reaches out with one hand, brandishing his invitation to the club for later. He's a little too drunk to be coordinated, so his other hand follows and grabs the inside of the limo. He reaches around the other and leans to tell him the time for the party right against his neck. That seems to halt this guy, and he gulps audibly while Butters gropes at his butt and manages to tuck the envelope in his back pants pocket. He pulls back with a wink and slides into his seat in the limo seconds before shutting the door.

"Ugh, get me the _fuck_ out of here," Butters says dramatically while grabbing his mostly empty bottle of vodka. He easily finishes it off and starts looking for something else to make time go by faster. This place is so boring, and he just wants the party to start already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm giving Kenny brown eyes because I want to. I hope ya'll can live with that.
> 
> I grew up with a kid who had dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes. My dad had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes, and I'm a dirty blonde with gray eyes. 
> 
> Also, I took a lot more time on this chapter, cause I felt that there needed to be more description. It feels like I blasted through the first two chapters, and I didn't enjoy them. I think I like this one better? I hope you guys enjoy it. If you're looking for more info about how Butters grew up, there will be more in later chapters, I promise. There will also be dialogue, since this chapter has hardly any.


	4. The Thickest Neck

Kenny got up at the asscrack of dawn to wait for a bus that _of course_ arrived later than it was scheduled. He kind of figured that it would, though, and ended up sitting at the stop, waiting until it finally showed. Where South Park is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, Denver never feels far from anything. This shouldn't be a long bus ride. He dressed in one of the outfits Karen and Tricia picked out for him, which honestly... doesn't look as formal as he suspected. That might also have something to do with the fact that he mix-and-matched items. He's not going to wear that button-up they picked out, and despite the pants being made of a decent enough material, and being pressed, they didn't fit when he tried them on before leaving the house. He could have made them fit if he'd had a belt, but he doesn't. Oh well!

Turns out when they went shopping, the girls were able to afford multiple articles of clothing for him, so Kenny didn't feel too guilty deviating from the outfit they'd carefully constructed. What is most important is that the clothing is clean and comfortable.

Despite going for a laid-back look, Kenny tried to look a little more put together than he would usually. His hair _has_ been trimmed -Karen hardly noticed a difference- and brushed. He's not put on a hat, or pulled up his hood, so it's naturally dried wavy, and he hasn't fucked it up at all. Unintentionally, he didn't get much sleep to ruin it, either.

He'd been up most of the night, planning out his next couple days. There'd been the matter of figuring out the bus schedule, planning out his travel time, finding a nearby hotel to stay, and then setting aside the funds to stay in it. Kenny didn't know if he'd actually be in Denver for more than just this initial day of launch, since if he only saw Paris... well, there are many things he could do. Kenny had spent a good lot of his night considering many options and potential means of somehow getting her attention enough to find out more regarding Butters. Some of his ideas ranged from sneaking into her limousine, or handing her his phone number, or flirting with one of her assistants and catching a ride with them, or (and this is probably his absolute last ditch effort) throwing himself in front of her limousine in the hopes she'd stop. Without knowing how everything will plan out, he could only consume himself with what-ifs as the night went on.

What little sleep he got wasn't very rewarding, and Kenny was out of the house before the sun rose. He didn't want Karen to see what he'd chosen to wear, since he's almost certain she'd consider it pajamas, or lounge wear. He's got an illegally soft, navy blue t-shirt that had its tags cut out long ago, and a pair of dark gray joggers on. They hang on him a little like harem pants, but he's into it. His usual orange hoodie has been cleaned (turns out that mystery stain was from bleach, so it's not going anywhere), and it's back on him. Kenny isn't really planning on taking it off when the weather is cold. Considering South Park is cold as often as he's breathing, there's a good chance he won't be showing off his new outfit in its entirety. He's also wearing some brown gloves, some clean socks, and a pair of worn out, dark gray vans. Those, he thinks, are the girls' best find. Sure, whoever wore them before donating them doodled messily, and got some white paint on them. The insoles slide about a little with every step Kenny takes, and they look pretty dirty, but he likes them. They're far from uncomfortable, and after he'd slid them on and realized they're probably the only pair of shoes he has that don't have holes, he hadn't wanted to take them off.

Kenny dozes lightly on the bus ride into Denver, grateful that for a weekday morning, most residents of South Park can afford to commute in their own vehicles. He wouldn't call the rest he got _sleep_ , but it's definitely a power-nap. When he gets off the bus and walks towards the mall, stretching his arms and yawning in the city air, he realizes that this little event he's attending isn't really popular. There's no one around, crossing the streets or bustling on the sidewalks around the mall. This is not a formal-wear situation. It's an early Tuesday morning, and the only people around are mall employees. They seem tired, and the only part of the mall that's even a little lively is the Harbucks kiosk. Kenny goes up to it to get some tea, and then heads towards the big department store where he'll find Paris' new perfume line launching. There aren't any crowds there, either. Mall security doesn't give him more than a passing glance, probably because this is a department store similar in size to a Macy's with its own security. It only surprises Kenny slightly, as he's sure he doesn't look like the type to shop around in there, but given his Harbucks in hand, and the fact that he's clearly waiting patiently for the store to open, he's not looking too suspicious, either. Probably given his youthful face and tired expression, he looks like he's just running some kind of errand.

Once the gate is lifted, Kenny casually walks in. The floor of the aisles glistens, and the carpeted clothing sections look freshly vacuumed. Every table he passes holds clothing folded nicely in separate colored sections, and metal racks are hanging entire outfits on display. Compared to the Thrift Shop in South Park, he could find anything for any occasion, and in little time. He's even certain if he were looking for some ridiculously elusive article of clothing, and this store weren't carrying it, he could get some associate to help him order it online. There don't seem to be many associates around, however. He's sure if he could find one, they'd point him to their perfume counter. Oh well, he'll just keep wandering until he hears people. Instead of people, there's loud overhead music that starts up suddenly, and just as quickly cuts off. Kenny nearly drops his drink in surprise, and almost misses the sound of a microphone being tapped. Sounds like someone's testing it. He navigates the main aisles, heading into the center of the department store until he finds a group of people standing around.

There's no stage for Paris, just a few sales associates in suits standing on what is most definitely a platform that is maybe an inch thick, set on top of the carpet across from the perfume counter. The glass counters are covered in fine fabric, and Paris' perfume line is front and center. The new line must be hiding somewhere behind it, or already out on the shelves. Kenny plans to go through it before he goes back to South Park. If he can't bring home Butters, -not that his expectations are so high- then he can at least bring home some gossip and perfume while hoping that his networking skills (however desperate some of them may seem, see: jumping in front of a limousine), work. 

Kenny isn't the only person watching this little product reveal, but he's definitely the only average consumer, if looks say anything. Around him are people in business suits and some employees. There are a few others with cameras, but there's less excitement in this atmosphere than Kenny had expected. Kenny definitely expected crowds, because Paris is a celebrity, but maybe this is what happens after fame. People aren't as excited to track you down for autographs and... whatever else they'd want from her. From the research Kenny did on her, she didn't do much of anything except party, drink, and sleep around. The girls in town were right. She's not popular anymore. Still, there is some excitement, and there are even bags being given away like promotional gifts for the launch.

Kenny takes a step back from the aisle and the little crowd to watch everyone mingle about. He's always been pretty good at monitoring large area's for noteworthy activity. Maybe that comes with him living in Sodosopa and having chased away the Meth heads who used to use the area and scare Karen. Kenny hasn't dressed up as Mysterion in what feels like ages, but he'll still defend his sister and keep her safe. He's a good observer. Maybe after all of his schooling, he could go for a job in the law enforcement field? Not a cop, though, since they're pigs... but maybe a detective. That'd be cool, right?

From what he can tell, the excitement has hit an audible climax. Someone's definitely approaching them, occasionally illuminated by flash photography, but from what Kenny can make out while he's standing so close to the crowd, they're not in pink, and Kenny can't hear high-heels. There's no assistant walking on the side of this entourage carrying a bedazzled hand-bag, or watching after any small dog. There is, however, a tall young man walking down the main aisle towards the perfume counter. 

Kenny's stuck staring as Butters strides with practiced confidence onto the platform, flanked by two imposing figures who are likely his bodyguards. This should be a moment that Kenny will commit to memory, where his breath should be standing still. He'd like to call this love at first ~~re-union~~ sight, or that he feels a spark of infatuation in his chest.

Instead, he feels a sinking pity.

Because Butters looks like shit.

Like he's miles past being drunk. He seemed to have taken a detour there before reaching his current, final destination, which is _wasted_. Kenny saw him walk confidently, but not very straight. He'd bet that the only thing keeping him walking in the right direction without falling on his face are the people at his sides. Maybe it's not so obvious to everyone else, as they take pictures of him and shout questions, and praise. Kenny's been to enough parties and seen that expression on Butter's face in his own reflection more times than he can count. The most mind-blowing thing is that it's not even half an hour after 9 in the morning. He can only wonder, dreadfully, is Butters always like this?

Kenny's doesn't really have room to talk about sobriety, considering he's done more drugs than he can remember, and gotten high off of things that most people wouldn't believe. For him, anything could be a drug, and it probably doesn't hurt his wild experiences that he'll try just about anything for money.

Thinking back on it now, he doesn't feel as insulted when Craig had asked if he'd try to get money from Butters.

There are things Kenny has eaten, spaces he's crawled into, chemicals he's huffed, and company he's kept that's so outrageous, he has no room to judge. It's wrong, right? Should he feel so disappointed that their reunion won't be as dazzling as he'd hoped for? 

Despite feeling some second-hand embarrassment over Butters drunkenly staggering about, more than anything, Kenny takes a second more to absorb his feelings. He wants to help him. Butters clearly isn't okay.

  


Kenny has died many _many_ times just carrying on regular activities in his childhood. Nowadays, it's from mistakes made while intoxicated. That was always fun in the moment, sure... but the aftermath wasn't worth it. The look he would see on Karen's face when he came back would tell him she knew what'd happened. His friends didn't remember, but he could usually hear their reactionary screams when he'd go. Kenny has lost some possibly great jobs because when he goes, the time isn't consistent, and he exactly take time off for death and expect employers to understand.

He likes to think he's doing better for himself. Kenny's spending his later teenage years more alive than dead. There's some income he's been using to help his family, and some set aside for his and Karen's future. He hasn't gotten any help, but he wishes he'd had someone help him back when he got _really_ experimental with the drugs. It was nice to know that Kyle and Stan could see him getting addicted to certain drugs, and would rope Cartman into helping them. His heart was never in the right place, but still, Kenny had _friends_. He knew when he died that he'd be missed. He knew that there was an impact on the people he left behind, even if it was temporary. 

Kenny has never been able to convince his friends to remember his deaths, and that used to hurt.

Until he realized that Karen didn't forget.

She told him she'd hear mom yell, and dad get annoyed.

Sometimes she would spend the night in Kenny's room when he didn't come home, because being around him made her feel safe. 

She'd been woken up by their mom the first time she remembered it happening, just nudged gently awake.

"Mom handed me a baby swaddled in your hoodie, and I knew it wasn't a doll!" He remembers her telling it to him, with a voice so desperate, it was as though no one could believe her. As though no one ever did. "I asked her if she found it, but she'd tell me 'No, it's just your brother,' and leave to go back to bed."

Karen would look after him through the night, not that he was ever a fussy baby. Apparently, he slept completely through most nights, aging up to his current -at the time- age quickly, and then would act as though he'd never been reborn. 

When Karen told him, Kenny remembered feeling relieved and horribly guilty. He'd assumed that like everyone else, Karen didn't know. He hadn't meant to keep it from her, and had gotten used to being careless with his life. Kenny didn't tell her he had to die to be born again. She probably put the pieces together.

Kenny still drinks and smokes on occasion, but looking on at Butters now, Kenny is pretty sure he's got no one. He knows how it feels. He wants to help. He's going to help.

  


Sure, Butters doesn't look ill from the alcohol, but Kenny has always cared more than he should. Even if he isn't remembered fondly by Butters, Kenny will always consider him a friend. Maybe it's some hero complex, but it doesn't feel wrong. Kenny stays so he can talk to Butters and find out why he's gotten to be in such a drunken stupor. One of those suited managers or whatever they are, introduces their celebrity, and reaches out his hand to him.

'Mister Biggles' stumbles forward to shake hands with the important-looking individual. Kenny's lost his focus on everyone else. The gesture looks like a nice, firm, business handshake, but the business part of it lasts maybe three seconds. Butters is wearing an expression of monumental disinterest as he complains to one of his assistants over the suit shoulder in front of him. 

When he's turned to face the small crowd that's gathered, and is looking forward, Kenny isn't entirely sure where Butters is _actually_ looking. There's a glossy look to his right eye, which is staring a little above the crowd's head, but not past them, and the other eye is bright, but not fully open. He's saying something slurred in the general vicinity of a microphone, and no one can really hear him.

The man who'd introduced him earlier takes the microphone off its stand and holds it in front of Butters.

"and I'd like to- huh?" Butters raises his arm to push it away, and misses before giving a big smile. "Thanks for coming!" He staggers to the side, steps off the little platform, and up close to one of his assistants. She hands him a bottle of water, which he accepts before glancing in Kenny's direction. 

Kenny can feel his heart skip a beat as the side of Butters' mouth quirks up slightly, then the assistant is talking to him again, saying something about getting breakfast. Butters takes a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses from her, and puts them on with a groan before turning to leave.

The realization that he could miss his only chance to talk to Butters hits Kenny like a wall of ice water. He bolts forward without thinking. It's now or never, McCormick!

But as the foot he sets forward touches the ground, a large woman steps in front of him. To avoid knocking either of them off balance, Kenny jerks back and looks up.

She's absolutely intimidating. There are obvious muscles straining the sleeves of her blazer, and _jesus_ that is the thickest neck on anyone Kenny has ever seen in his life. It hints at more muscle, and he lets out a nervous chuckle, not keen on being snapped like a twig. He doesn't know if the energy thrumming through him is excitement or adrenaline, but there's no way he's going to let Butters go without calling out to him.

Butter's voice calls out first, and to the bodyguard blocking Kenny's way, "Lola! Get in the car, stupid!"

The bodyguard -she looks like a Lola, Kenny thinks- stares him down a moment longer, reminding him of a pit bull on the last link of its chain. Whatever is holding her back is near breaking, and for a few seconds, Kenny thinks she might just make a move at him, hoping he'll flinch away. She does make a move, but it's simply a turn. He blinks up at her back as she moves to a vehicle parked behind the limousine. The other bodyguard that'd escorted Butters into the store is waiting for her, looking a bit impatient. Only after the car door shuts behind her does Kenny move again, and it's a quick dash after Butters. 

Before he can even touch the long vehicle, Butters is leaning out and cutting him off by placing his mouth right on Kenny's ear, and one hand on his butt. The lips speaking against his ear might have been sexy, were it not for the smell of alcohol all over him and the heavy slur to his voice. Still, Kenny's wanted to talk to him, so he won't resist this, and instead just goes still. It's a tickle of sensation as Butters tucks something into his back pocket, and grabs at his butt, Kenny tenses and gives a small shiver as Butters is pulling back too quickly, throwing him a wink, and the door shuts between them.

Kenny steps back from the road, even though he's already on the sidewalk, and watches the limousine drive off. He's pretty sure he's the only one out here, and one look around confirms that. The object Butters stuffed into his back pocket is an envelope with a card in it. It's for a Hilton hotel, but there's a handwritten "720" as well... and a hit of ecstacy. Kenny pockets the envelope with the drugs, but flips the card around. Butters had said something about nine on the dot. So... that's the time he wants to meet up? But what's this business card for?

He pulls a cigarette out and walks down the road, heading back to the cheap hotel he'd looked up before his trip. Kenny isn't going to call Tweek because as much as the twitchy blonde had been excited acting as an informant, he's got an anniversary to celebrate. Instead, Kenny will just have to call someone else.

  


"Kenny?"

"Hey dude, are you at your computer?" 

The phone is jostled a little, and Kenny can hear a door open. Then, Stan's voice saying "Catch-" and someone else yelling in the background. "Yeah. Hang on, let me get it turned on... Talk to Kyle."

The quality of the call goes down, and he can make out the sound of someone eating something crunchy, loudly. 

"Hey Kenny! Where are you?" It's really easy to miss, but Kenny can make out a hint of worry in Kyle's voice.

"Denver."

There's some muffled conversation Kenny isn't going to strain to eavesdrop on.

"Dude... why? It's a fucking Tuesday."

"He probably can't even afford a bus ticket to get back. Kahl, tell him- tell him I said-"

"Tell him yourself."

"Kenny! You're gonna get stuck there! Did you hitchhike?! YOU can't afford bus fare!"

"-you're on speaker phone," Kyle supplies.

"Suck my dick! I can too afford bus fare!"

"No you can't, you black asshole!"

Kenny's just gonna let it go. He's not in the mood to hear the yo' mamma jokes Cartman's probably had bottled up for him. He acts as though he didn't hear Cartman and cuts him off, "Stan, can you look up Denver-720 for me?"

The phone is handed over, because the quality gets better. For a second, Kenny hears silence, then whoever is handing it over hits a few numbers, causing Kenny to nearly drop his cigarette while he winces.

"It's just an area code, dude." Stan says.

"Yeah, but... is anything named after it? Like a place?" Kenny can hear some more background chatter. It's probably an argument.

"Oh yeah... it's a club, too."

He nods, but of course Stan can't _hear_ that. "Cool. Guess I'm going clubbing." Then he hangs up before his friends can attempt to talk him out of, or invite themselves to his reunion with Butters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whose POV did you like better?


	5. Good Lookin'

Gross.

Butters awakens several hours later (not that he remembers much past 10 AM), feeling greasy with the taste of alcohol and sleep on his breath. The comfortable bed in his suite at the Hilton hotel should by all means feel luxurious, considering it's the most expensive room this particular hotel could give him. Instead, the fluffy down comforter is stuck to the skin of his back via a layer of sweat. Butters sits up slowly, the feeling of gravity peeling it down giving him an uncomfortable shiver.

"What happened...? My shirt's all gross, too..." Butters mutters in disappointment while picking up the discarded garment . He worries it between his hands until realizing that it's damp. It doesn't smell bad, but it definitely smells like he spilled a mimosa on it. 

Bringing his face up to sniff it, Butters recognizes the acidic smell of orange juice. He doesn't find it unappealing, but he's not going to wear the shirt when it's in such a sorry state. It looks salvageable, the shirt's dark color not showing that he'd ever made a mess, and as he goes to set it aside, his finger sticks to the fabric. He take a moment to experimentally poke at it some more, then frowns. 

"Ew it's all sticky..." He mutters and drops it on the ground next to the bed. A shower is definitely in order. Since touching that, he realizes that all of him feels kind of sticky. That is a sensation he has _never_ liked.

Butters looks about with wide, curious eyes to take in the destruction of his room. It's not that bad, just mostly messy around himself, but it's just such a bother to look at. There's the matter of his clothing, and it seems he'd knocked some stuff over while making his way to the bed. The small coffee pot is leaned against the ice-bucket above his mini-fridge, the closet door is open -he has no idea why- while his jacket is draped over the pillows on the bed. It looks like he found the bed and fell asleep right on top of the covers. Butters moves to rub sleep out of his eyes, and finds his left one pretty itchy. He'll have to put some drops in it.

It's as he's moving to get off the bed that he realizes with more disgruntled self-disappointment that he never bothered to take his shoes off.

"Oh no!" Never mind how uncomfortable his eye is, this is just _wrong_! 

Even the hungry grumble of his stomach doesn't bother him as much as the fact that he wore his shoes to bed! He didn't get them on the bedding, since he didn't exactly mean to fall asleep, but it's the principle of the matter. 

After the shoes, he takes off his socks and decides he should probably just take a shower. Butters figures he missed breakfast and lunch, so he's going to have to eat before he goes out. Butters walks into the large bathroom and takes off the rest of his clothes and jewelry before dragging what Paris always referred to as his "beauty bag" onto the counter. He sets out everything he'll need to have a good time later in the night when he plans on bringing some fellas back here.

That way, if he has drinks with his dinner, he can clean himself up inside and out before hitting the club.

The shower is running nice and hot, and Butters plans on pampering himself thoroughly before going out. His hungry belly can wait! He's got to make sure that he'll have the best night ever, and think about himself completely. 

"Let's see..." He's put on a clay mask and grabs some water from the cooler in his room, walking about in the nude, letting the water run and steam up the place, and planning out what all he wants. What _does_ he want?

Sex.

Hey, yeah! He's shaving his legs over the running water, sitting on the edge of the tub, and humming a tune to himself. Butters won't be picky, and he's not going to limit himself. He handed out all of his envelopes, he thinks. Either that, or he dropped them, because they're gone.

"Hope I found somebody nice this time," He says. Unfortunately, with Butters being so timid usually, he has a tendency to search out guys that are bigger and stronger than him, and hang all over them. He's sure he's annoyed most of them and that's why they like to take things a little further than he'd usually like. Fred, the bodyguard Paris hired for him, did very little with keeping mean guys away. He's only really good at crowd management.

But the last time Butters went out, he took Lola along and he wasn't able to get _any_ guys.

"I'll hafta have a talk with her. I'm definitely going to bring some guys up here and get my bussy pounded, boy howdy!" He giggles and moves on from his right leg to his left. This is time-consuming and he doesn't usually shave his legs, but he sure loves how they feel once they're all dry and soft! Once he's done, he's rinsing off the mask and washing his hair so he can smell clean and fresh. He doesn't want to look like a dirty whore, after all, just a regular, clean whore.

Paris taught him that his outer appearance should tease and give little sneak-peaks of his intentions. He dries himself off and moves to the mirror to start working on his hair.

"If you're going to be a prize, well Mister, you've got to _look_ like one!" He grins and sprays a pre-styling product in, then blow-dries the hair on the top of his head. Once it's dry, he sculpts it with a natural-shine pomade, tousles it experimentally, then sweeps it back. 

"Oh, boy!" he exclaims excitedly, looking his work over. It looks very sharp.

"What's cookin' good lookin'?" Butters gives his reflection a wink, and makes himself giggle. A few strands fall down over his clean part, but he likes it. Wild, but still well-groomed.

After that, it's time for concealer, then a translucent powder. He'll bring that along, since he knows his skin can look kind of greasy when he parties.

Next, he's got to put on the clothing and accessories. He hadn't picked anything too skimpy, since he'd been planning to spend a lot of time with his parents. That thought only brings his mood down for a moment before he pulls out a pair of ripped up, tight black leggings. Oh, this is gonna be _fun_! 

Butters loves dressing up! He wishes he could go out in one of those dresses Paris let him wear for one of the perfume advertisements. It was kind of conservative, but he found it comfortable, and the daisy pattern on it was just the cutest thing!

Once he's tried on different jackets, vests, cardigans with and without shirts, he's settled on his more comfortable, barely opaque white t-shirt. It's got a really wide neck, so tends to hang in the middle and show off his clavicle. Butters doesn't have a muscular build, but he's not skinny, either. He's pretty sure most of his weight is in his butt, but Paris has told him that's a good thing to have. His belly is kind of flat, and could look a little muscular if he clenched, sucked his tummy in, and bent forward a bit. The only real muscles that show on him are his arms, and he doesn't even have to try flexing them to make them look good. Butters considers what else he could show off, and looks down. Maybe if he wore heels, he could get his calves to pop.

Butters puts on a fishnet, zip-up hoodie, then his denim jacket before deciding he's ready for the Colorado cold. He won't be ready to go out until he's got diamond studs on his ears and a dainty, gold Eiffel tower necklace around his neck. It'd been a gift from Paris when he was still a kid, and as he'd grown, he just got thinner, longer chains to hang it on.

After calling Lola, Butters decides he's ready to go. They'll hit up Bennigan's and come back. The Hilton and 720 are only a block apart, so he won't have to do much in the way of travel between them. He'll order a few more drinks from room service if there's still time to kill, and maybe something to share with his company for later.

  


When Butters returns from dinner, he's got a light buzz. There are a few bottles of champagne on ice in his suite, and he's clean and ready to get as much attention as he possibly can. Lola is walking next to him, somewhat dressed down since she no longer has her black blazer and slacks on. Instead, she has a black v-neck tee straining against her broad chest, and some khaki slacks. 

She walks next to him, looking around with something of a bored expression and a cigarette lit between her red lips. Butters doesn't mind when she smokes, and he knows she's looking forward to having a good time. She always seems to when her arms are out. It's like she's trying to show them off, and all the black and gray tattoos adorning them. 

Butters hopes that someone at the club will see them and compliment her on them. 

Lola gets the door, nods her greeting to a bouncer outside, and they walk in. 

The sun's going down, and the club hasn't been open for long. It doesn't feel busy, and honestly, Butters wasn't expecting it to, given that it's a Tuesday night, and he's not as popular as Paris used to be.

Maybe he can stir up a little bit of chaos, though? 

Butters will try not to cause Paris too much trouble, but he's thinking that maybe a sex-tape of his own couldn't hurt. He remembers her fame jumped after someone revealed it way back when. It'd happened before she bought him, and apparently, she's not the only celebrity who'd gotten a spike in popularity with something like that.

He grins and waves Lola off while taking a seat in the VIP section. She should have fun and relax until things get really busy. For now, he's going to people watch and hope that at least one of the people he invited attends, or was interested in him. This isn't an exclusively gay club, so he'll try not to have his hopes too high.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found out that Butters is a Virgo, and Kenny is an Aries. 
> 
> I can't stop comparing them to Jenna and Julien.


	6. I Like to Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning** NSFW content! some groping
> 
> and _finally_ some interaction between Butters and Kenny

The club looks empty from the outside when Kenny scopes it out a little after eight that night. He wonders what would happen if he walked in now... would he be denied entry? Kicked out? The bouncer at the door has let some other guys through that weren't dressed very well. Apparently, there's no real dress-code, not that Kenny actually suspected that. It's not like he'd left home this morning with the plan to get into a nightclub. He's never actually been to a nightclub before. The only parties he attends are his classmates' house parties. The city's a world of differences compared to the little mountain town of South Park. He's a bit apprehensive about walking right up, and not entirely because this is a new experience for him.

Kenny's real dilemma is his age. He doesn't exactly look old enough, probably because he's shorter than most guys his age. Maybe he could sneak in? 

He chose the absolute worst time to leave his fake ID at home. 

Not one to give up easily, Kenny decides to stick around the street corner, smoking a cigarette and watching how the bouncer interacts. Some people are let in with little to no fuss, no ID check or even really looked over. Mostly, the least amount of inspection from the bouncer comes with the fact that those people are approaching in groups. He's shit out of luck there, and wonders if he should call the guys again to see if any of them wouldn't mind heading to Denver.

Stan's pretty whipped, so he wouldn't try to sneak into a club. Kyle's too focused on his studies, even if Kenny knows he's applied to many colleges and has probably been accepted into all of them, and might need a night like this to take his mind off his stress. He'd probably have to get his mom's permission, since usually, Kyle borrows her car. Cartman is his only option left, and Kenny doesn't trust him enough to not be a dick to Butters. There are too many unforeseeable directions an interaction between them could go, with most being in Eric's favor. It may be ten years and they all look different, but Cartman is still as much of an asshole as he was when they were little. He'd probably be scheming some way to use Butters from the moment he notices him.

Kenny's not going to call anyone for backup, and just keeps watching, hoping inspiration will strike him, or that Butters will arrive on the dot, and invite him along. That's not too bad an idea.

He scraps it when he notices one guy waiting to get in. There's nothing extraordinary or familiar about him, but while he's chatting, he's tucking an envelope into the front pocket of his jeans. Sure, it looks to be any normal envelope, but _here_ and _now_? It looks too similar to Kenny's for him to ignore. 

He walks right up to the guy and pulls his cigarette out from his lips, taps the ash, and exhales smoke away from him, trying to appear as courteous as he can. "Hey, did you get that from Butters?" Kenny says and points at the guy's pocket. He takes out his own envelope to further illustrate what he's talking about.

"Yeah. So?" This guy doesn't seem suspicious of him, just mildly bothered at having a stranger start talking to him.

"I'll give you mine if you let me walk in with you guys. I left my ID at home."

The guy he's approached looks him over, then flashes him a smirk. "Sure. Hang on-"

Whoa, Kenny was pretty sure this wasn't going to work out so well. He watches as the guy walks up to a couple girls standing off and having a smoke of their own, taps one on the shoulder, and returns to Kenny with a party hat.

"Alright. Hand it over, and put this on."

Kenny nods, accepts the party hat, hands over the envelope and waits for this stranger to ensure that the envelope has the contents he expects. Once he approves, Kenny is to play along. If anyone asks what's going on, it's his twenty-first birthday. The two girls from earlier join them, one of them even reaching up to adjust the hat on his head so that the thin elastic is tucked behind his ears. Kenny smiles down at her, and keeps walking. Lucky for him, the bouncer just nods them in, and that's that. The girl that he'd been smiling at winks, then turns, takes the other girl's hand, and they walk onto the dance floor.

Before Kenny can properly thank the guy in this little group, he's already lost him. Despite this place looking pretty deserted outside, on the inside, there's already a large group of people dancing, all the table are filled up with patrons Kenny can only assume are regulars. They're acting like this is some local bar and not a _club_. Kenny's surprised he hasn't bumped into anyone, with the way this place is filling up, and the bar is packed.

Oh! That's where that nice guy went.

Kenny walks right up, elbows in a bit, and throws down some money for the bartender. "Hey, can you get a drink for my guy over there? Rum and coke? Water for me, I'm the D.D."

The drink is made and handed to Kenny's acquaintance, who accepts. Their eyes meet across the bar, to which Kenny nods, and that's the last of that interaction.

Now... to get settled in and hope Butters arrives at 9 'on the dot' like he'd said.

  


Or... not?

Butters is already five steps ahead of him. Not only is the cute fuck already in the VIP section twenty minutes early, he's got drinks in front of him, and is sitting in some other guy's lap like you would a comfortable armchair. What the hell? How does he move so fast?!

Kenny looks around, trying to strategize how to get over there without bumping into one of the bouncers responsible for keeping the peace inside. He'd like to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Unfortunately, while he's looking at the bouncers, he notices that one of them seems out of place. A few steps closer, and he recognizes why. It's Lola. 

It doesn't seem as though she's looking for, or caught sight of him yet. If she's there, it must just be to keep Butters out of too much trouble. Considering he's got a big cheeky grin on his face while he's giving this guy a lap dance, and beckoning someone else into his VIP section, Butters is having a good time and has this situation somewhat under control.

Kenny doesn't feel like he has to sneak. In fact, that'd probably be super suspicious, so he just walks along the edge of the dance floor and waves to get Butters' attention.

It works! The perky blonde grins at Kenny, and leans back, lifting one shoulder, and tipping his head to the side to bat his eyelashes at him. The owner of the lap he's in reaches an arm around him, and strokes over his chest. Kenny can see, rather than hear Butters giggle, and lift his shirt a little so that hand has better access.

Lola is closer to the VIP section, and Kenny turns his attention to her, wondering if she notices. She does, and doesn't even seem bothered when Butters' new company start to whisper in his ear and openly grope between his legs. The bodyguard gives a scoff and turns her attention to someone approaching her, amicably offering a drink and winding their free arm around one of hers.

Okay, if it's alright with Lola, Kenny is going to be joining them. There's a lot of alcohol on that table, after all, and he doesn't trust that Butters is in his right mind. When he gets to the VIP entrance, he hears Butters moan and watches him turns his head up to talk with the guy in front of him. The guy stops, and approaches to let Kenny in.

He looks kind of plain, if Kenny were being honest. Not bad looking, but next to Butters, anyone seems drab. The guy who lets him through is tanned with short brown hair, has one pierced ear, and some _really_ short shorts. He catches Kenny staring at him and grins before turning to saunter back into Butters' personal space. It's obvious by the way he walks, swinging his hips slow and purposeful that he's trying to hold Kenny's attention. He has it, but Kenny isn't staring at his ass. There's something off about him.

Mr. Booty-shorts is definitely under the influence of... something. There's a tick to his movements that reminds Kenny of a meth-head, but he's not here to call anyone out. He's just hoping to have Butters' ear for a bit and maybe make sure there's a human attached to the lap he's been wiggling his hips provocatively on.

There is, and from what Kenny can make out through Butters, he's tall, dark, and very handsome. Maybe it's the way his face seems so stoic, or the set of his jaw. He looks like a serious individual. He's not touching Butters anymore, just basking in him, and that's probably why Mr. Biggles is working so hard. Mr. Handsome is clearly having a good time, if his boner is any indication, and Kenny sits across from them, looking very amused.

This is kind of nice. Butters seems to be having fun, and Lola isn't stepping in. Mr. Booty shorts is handing Kenny a drink from the table, and he's just going to try a sip of his fruity cocktail when Butters moans obscenely. Good thing he hadn't got any in his mouth, because with hearing a noise like that, Kenny is sure he wouldn't have reacted well. This drink smells good, but he doesn't want to cough it up and have some of it go up his nose. He clears his throat and, to not seem too bothered, takes a tentative sip on his drink while glancing in Lola's direction. He wonders if he should get her to call these guys off. Is it really okay for Butters to be doing this?

If he calls her over, she'll probably kick every one of them out, and then he won't get the chance to have an actual conversation with Butters. Kenny will just keep that option as a last resort, if Butters seems to be done with this. When he turns his attention back to the scene across the table, Butters is reaching for him. So, he sets his drink down, reaches over it across the table, stands up a bit, and kisses Butters hand. Kenny feels like he's the only one making any effort to be something of a gentleman in this situation, and he looks right into Butters' baby blue eyes while lifting his lips up and off the soft skin.

Despite the fact that he's giving some stranger a lap dance while another one gropes him, Butters face goes hot pink at that little gesture. "Oh... gosh." He seems smitten. Perfect. Now, if he'd just get up off that guy's lap and sit down a little closer to have an actual conversation...

  


Maybe they can start with something easy, like who these two guys flanking Butters are, "Who-"

"My name is Butters!"

Kenny smiles and sits back down, but stays leaned forward, knees parted, left elbow on his left thigh, and his right hand going to pick up his neglected cocktail. "I'm Kenny." He doesn't feel insulted that Butters doesn't seem to recognize him. It's been a while, and the last time they saw each other, Kenny was much smaller and didn't say much, and he usually had a hood covering most of his face.

"Oh!" Butters seems excited, and opens his mouth to say something, but gives a little squeal instead, as the man behind him pinches his butt. He shifts around, giggling, and moving to push that hand away. 

From behind Butters, the large man speaks, and his voice is husky. Kenny likes it, and their eyes meet over Butters' shoulder. "Why don't you come a little closer and get in on this?" Mr. Handsome offers.

Kenny flashes a grin at their company and lifts his left hand to prop his chin up. "No thanks. I like to watch, rather than participate." Not true, but Butters is drunk, and Kenny isn't going to take advantage of him.

"Oh boy! Really?" Butters shifts his hips back, and nods Mr. Shorts closer. "I've always wanted to have someone watch me do it!"

Kenny watches as Mr. Booty-shorts accepts the invitation and reaches to return his hand back where it had been between Butters' legs. It's hard not to look on at what is happened, especially after claiming he enjoys watching. That hand rubs, and fingers curl slightly against an obviously straining, poorly hidden erection in Butters' leggings. He pulls a moan out of the drunk blonde, and then loud enough for Kenny to hear, says playfully to Butters, "Why don't we give him an eyeful, then~?"

  


"Actually," Mr. Handsome speaks up, and shifts underneath the moaning young man. "Why don't we get out of here?"

Before Mr. Biggles can get much of an answer out, his perch is moving, sliding hands beneath his thighs and picking him up. Butters laughs, swings one arm back to hold onto the large, dark man carrying him, and caresses the face of the man touching him with the other. Butters nods, and is then carefully set down, but he stumbles. Both men catch him, wrapping his arm and help to hold him steady. Kenny breathes out a little sigh of relief, gets up, and leads the way out of the club. He'll fall behind once they've got Butters out. A quick glance in Lola's direction confirms she's paying attention to someone else entirely.

"Oh we can go back to my suite! It's really big!"

"I'll show you something really big."

Kenny glances forward again, and gets the feeling he should have gotten Lola's number... just to be on the safe side.

"Aw! I've always wanted to have a huge package!"

 _Oh fuck_ , Kenny thinks _This is going to get out of hand_. He smiles and raises his shoulders in a shrug at Mr. Booty-shorts. Oh, who wouldn't want a huge package? Ha ha. Oh crap... Just what the fuck is he getting himself into? Kenny isn't usually the kind of person to shy away from any sexual encounters, but... this is Butters. He's different.

  


There's some obvious concern on his face when his worries are interrupted. "Hey Kenny! Would you make a video of us doing it? I don't want you feeling left out, but since you like to watch, and all..." Butters says over his shoulder.

"I'd love to, Butters, but my phone is a piece of junk!" Kenny says with a carefree chuckle.

"Oh, here." Butters stops right there, in the middle of the sidewalk to dig around the pockets of his denim jacket, and pulls out a shiny iPhone. "You can use mine!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait for them to have an interaction where Butters isn't under the influence. How 'bout you guys?


	7. I'm an adult, gosh darnit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW/Warning: This is where the Mildly Dubious Consent comes in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna go ahead and apologize ahead of time. I know I won't be able to keep this one-chapter-a-day pace up. Also, I'm really excited for cute Bunny interactions.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read this fic! Special thanks to those who've left kudos and comments, as I really appreciate it!

Kenny is pretty confident that Butters and his "friends" are drunk. He's following them at a leisurely pace, flipping through Butters' phone. Despite it being a way more expensive and advanced model than his throwaway cell, it's astonishingly easy to use. He's taking pictures of the city with the same kind of enthusiasm a tourist might, just exploring the camera and its capabilities, before poking an icon on the screen to flip it. Kenny blinks at an image of himself, and grins. Oh, he's going to leave _so many_ selfies for Butters to look at later. Once that's out of the way, he saves his own cell number into Butters' contacts, and returns to the camera app. He's making a short video of Butters and his company walking ahead, lit up occasionally by the street lights overhead.

  


"There's Butters, needing four extra legs to walk." Kenny narrates as the two men on either side of the blonde laugh and help steady him. The tallest of their group is also the quietest, but his voice is so deep, it carries when he chuckles at something Butters must be talking about.

"Hey Butters! Who are these guys, anyways?"

"Yeah, Kenny?" Butters asks.

He stops, and Kenny lowers the camera. "This is Monty," he motions to Mr. Handsome, "and this is B-"

Before he can be introduced, the brunette snickers and cuts Butters off, "I'll tell him later."

"Huh? Oh, yeah! _Hey_ , that'll be fun," Butters looks up at Monty, who gives a sigh. This must be some inside joke given the way that Butters shares a grin with the brunette. It's only a little irritating, but it's not like Kenny is actually invested in knowing these guys. 

"Alright, Monty and Booty-shorts, it is," Kenny says and walks right into the Hilton hotel. He looks about, but Butters steps ahead of him to the elevator, directing them to follow him, even though Kenny would like to take a look around. The entrance is wide enough for crowds to push through, and the lack of cars around the towering building suggests that there must be some kind of valet. The lobby is spacious, and Kenny sees hardly anyone except for someone at the front desk. 

He catches only a glimpse of them before the elevator doors slide shut and block out anything else except the sound of the obvious make-out session between Monty and Butters behind him. 

  


Kenny unlocks the phone he'd been given, looking for a distraction and wondering if he should record any of this build up, when Mr. Booty-shorts steps a little closer to him. "So, you a friend of his?"

Kenny notices that Mr. Booty-shorts is giving him a rather hungry look. Maybe Kenny's the only person in this elevator who isn't in the mood for sex. 

That's unusual. He's usually the instigator.

"Yeah. From school," Kenny says, and that gives the other guy pause. 

"How old are you guys?"

"Oh, don't worry. We're both legal."

" _Yeah_!" Butters says, as if Kenny needed a hype man for a truthful statement. He's hanging off Monty, arms wrapped about his neck.

  


The elevator door opens and Butters lets go, dropping to his feet with an excited little giggle. "Oh boy! Come on, fellas!"

Kenny thinks he's acting like a kid who came home to some new toys. Maybe Butters has never done something like this before? Kenny won't assume he's a virgin, but maybe his enthusiasm has something to do with how Paris raised him. Mister and Misses Stotch were pretty restrictive parents, and Butters always seemed overly innocent in their childhood. Maybe having a Stupid Spoiled Whore as a role model has made him sex-hungry? Kenny hopes that (given Butters is eighteen) he's got no more than a few months of experience with stuff like sex.

Whether or not Butters is experienced in the bedroom is none of Kenny's business, he realizes. He looks at the other two men left standing in the elevator, and then shrugs casually before walking after him. It's a good thing he'll just be an observer tonight.

When they get to the room, Butters moves over to an ice bucket and starts to twist the metal wiring around the neck of a champagne bottle. 

Monty and Mr. Booty-shorts move in, and Kenny hangs back in the doorway. He's not sure why he feels so nervous. Monty may be a big guy, but he seems pretty respectful and fond of Butters. That other guy, though, he seems mischievous. That's not actually a bad thing, since Kenny usually acts that way among his own friends. They've got something in common, so maybe that's not what's got Kenny feeling so cautious. 

  


When he shuts the door behind him and steps in, he takes notice of Butters struggling to open the champagne bottle.

There had been an accident a few years ago at a News Year's Eve party where a cork from a champagne bottle had started a chain of events that lead to Kenny getting hit by a truck in someone's front yard. He rushes right up and puts a hand over one of Butters', using the other to gently take the bottle, "Here, you go ahead and make yourself comfortable." 

"Oh! Gee, thanks, Kenny," He says and walks over to the bed, beckoning Monty over.

Maybe Butters had loosened it, but the cork is easy to pry off. There's not much mess, and Kenny pours and carries a flute of champagne for each of them. Turning around, he bumps right into the other guy Butters had invited along. Kenny gives a visible start in surprise, and Mr. Booty-shorts chuckles. 

"You've got your hands full," which is true, as those flutes had been tipping a bit, but not close to spilling. 

The brunette takes two of the glasses and sets them down next to the ice bucket. When he moves his hands close again, it doesn't seem to be an attempt to free up Kenny's. Instead, he reaches to touch his shoulder, obviously assessing how he feels through the fabric of his orange hoodie. This guy really has no problems with putting his hands on other people, does he? Not that his touch isn't welcome. 

Kenny knows he's attractive, and this guy probably could give him one hell of a massage. He takes the smallest step forward and hums questioningly. "You like?" 

The brunette takes one of the flutes from him and sips at it before setting it down. Kenny places his own aside and pulls off his hoodie, dropping it to the floor so that there's more of him bared for this man to enjoy.

And clearly, he does, as both of his hands run across and down Kenny's chest. He steps closer, backing him into the counter that's holding the flutes. There's hunger in his expression, and Kenny won't deny he'd like to feel what those shorts this man is wearing are holding back. There are fingers toying with the front of his joggers, and maybe this isn't the best place for these activities. There's a couch in this suite they could definitely make use of.

  


"B.J." The brunette says, voice husky with want.

"Uh... yes please?" Kenny asks breathlessly.

"Call me BJ," He answers with a chuckle and bends one knee, then the other so he can have better access to Kenny's dick.

" _Oh fuck_. Well... if that's what you want." Kenny digs Butters' phone out from his pants and sets it behind him with the drinks. He sure won't take advantage of Butters, but this guy isn't as drunk, and he very clearly knows what he's after. Kenny would never dream of turning down a blow-job. He gives an approving sigh as he watches BJ run his lips over his clothed length. It's been a while, and Kenny's looking forward to this. Maybe this is something this guy is really notoriously good at, if he's going by "BJ".

Kenny's focus is interrupted too soon by the sound of Butters moaning. He and BJ stop what they're doing, as it seems the blonde is -once again- several steps ahead. Kenny frowns, knowing he should probably try to stop this, or that maybe he shouldn't be in the same room while it's happening.

There's a chuckle sounding between his legs, and BJ gives his cock a squeeze, "How are you not even hard yet?"

 _Well, fuck. I don't know_ , he thinks. _Maybe because this isn't porn, or I'm not drunk enough, or I'm tired? Or maybe I was never really in the mood to begin with._ He sets a hand on top of the man's head and grabs Butters' phone.

  


"Okay... we'll come back to this. If I don't get in on that, I'll probably miss out," BJ gets up and nods his head towards what's happening on the bed behind him. Monty is on his back beneath Butters, holding their erections together as the blonde eagerly thrusts his hips into his grip. 

"Come on, Kenny the Camera Man. Get some good shots for him." BJ taps the phone screen before walking over to join the two other men on the king-size bed.

Kenny realizes BJ started the recording on the camera app he'd swiped open. For a minute, he just stares down at the footage of the carpeted floor, listening to Butters moaning lewdly in the background. He decides it will probably work out all right, as long as he records Butters' face. Kenny doesn't know how well his resolve to stick around will hold if he tries to watch -or catch on camera- what is actually happening to Butters. He doesn't want to get involved directly.

  


Monty has moved to sit up, but this time with Butters' attention focused in his lap. It gives BJ plenty of room to get in behind him and do what Kenny expected. 

BJ likes to touch. Maybe he should change that alias he's going by. One of his hands is on Butters' hip while he grinds his clothed erection against his bare bottom. BJ's other hand slides between Butters' legs, and the blonde cries out in surprised pleasure, attention taken away from what he'd been doing to Monty.

Kenny thought Butters was loud before, but this is ridiculous. He records his facial expressions, which are occasionally blocked by Monty's big black dick as Butters turns his attention back to what he was doing before. Kenny thinks he might take footage from the bed, so that he can get more of _just_ Butters in frame. Jesus, but he's sucking that dick like his life depends on it.

Maybe he'll grab a tissue or something... This is the sloppiest blowjob he's ever witnessed in his life, but thankfully, the camera stops recording as his finger moves to zoom in, and accidentally bumps a notification as it appears.

  


"Hey Butters," Kenny interrupts. "Someone named Lola just texted you." He returns to the camera app to delete some of those incriminating photos, when Butters takes his phone back.

"Oh _hamburgers_!" The blonde cries out and pulls off of Monty. 

There must be something obviously telling in Butters' countenance. Monty is acting as though the text seriously can't mean anything good. He's watching the blonde on the bed with an anxious expression. _Smart man_ , Kenny thinks. Maybe he's not the only one that knows Lola is one of Mr. Biggles' bodyguards.

Butters is busy on his cellphone for a second, probably looking at his text messages. He's opening a different app to upload the video Kenny took, but also accidentally sends Lola a picture. "Oh jeeze! She's not gonna be happy! Oh I'm gonna be in so much- ah-! B.J., stop! I'm serious!"

  


Monty is moving off the bed and hurrying to get his pants on, whereas BJ hasn't stopped stroking Butters.

Kenny figures that maybe BJ just doesn't know who Lola is, or isn't taking what Butters is saying as anything serious. He reaches out and puts a tense hand on BJ's shoulder. "Dude, he told you to stop."

Maybe BJ is going to, maybe Kenny's going to have to knock him out, and maybe Monty is getting the hell out of the room. They won't really know, as the door opens faster than anyone expects, and Lola is staring Monty down. They're right at eye level, and while Kenny would like to see how this plays out, he's still trying to break up the situation directly in front of him.

Butters makes a sudden, disconcerting noise. Kenny isn't sure if it's a noise of discomfort from what BJ has been doing, or maybe it's something of a reaction to knowing Lola has caught him. Either way, Kenny pulls his fist back and strikes the side of BJ's head as hard as he can before scooping some of the comforter up and covering Butter's with it.

That certainly makes Butters moves quick. He gets onto the bed and gathers the offered blanket in and over his lap before looking down at BJ. "Did... is he gonna be okay?" Butters asks Kenny.

Kenny isn't hearing much in the way of a conversation from the doorway, but he's not just going to ignore Butters or the guy he's just knocked out. It'll probably make him seem less guilty if he sticks around and explains himself.

  


With a sigh, he nudges BJ's crumpled form on the floor with his foot. "If he'd have just fucking stopped when you told him to... he'd be better. But yeah, he's okay." Kenny looks over at the nude blonde sitting next to him, smiling in the most reassuring manner he can. 

"Are you alright, Leo-OW!" Kenny is suddenly colliding with the wall behind him, lifted off his feet and held aloft by Lola's fist in his shirt collar. "Uh... Hey, Lola... Look, I didn't-!" He shuts up as the bodyguard swings her other hand back, and a loud crunching noise hits his ears. Kenny flinches and Butters's shouts.

"Put him down! Lola! Kenny didn't do anything wrong!"

Kenny cautiously opens his eyes, and drywall sprinkles the shoulder of his blue t-shirt white as Lola draws her fist back. She eases him down, and he whistles softly at her, clearly impressed with the damage she caused to the wall. "I bet you could bench two whole school buses." Sure, that's not a measurement of weight, but it's a compliment! He hopes she can take a compliment. Her expression doesn't change much.

  


"Who did this?" Lola asks, looking at Butters. Monty isn't around, and there isn't any trace of him. BJ is on the floor, but like Kenny, he's clothed. Butters is the only one naked.

"Lola, i-it's not what you think! I brought them- and then we eh- and I told them eh- uh... I told _him_ \- t-t-to eh- ah-take my phone, and my uh- my clothes k-kind of had to- w-well- I. uhhh..." Butters starts to knock his knuckles together and worry his lips. "Um... you see... I did. I did this." He admits after some long-winded floundering.

"I knocked this guy out." Kenny says as he points to BJ. "He wasn't listening to Butters."

"So then what are _you_ doing here?"

"I gave him my phone!" Butters supplies.

Lola looks at Kenny, and he can feel his nerves get the best of him, because this is where it seems he did nothing but watch. Like his lack of interference in this mess isn't already making him feel bad. Kenny sigh.

"I took some pictures, since he asked me to. Then I got your text, and gave him the phone." Kenny says. "I also opened the champagne. That's my hoodie by the door."

Lola glances over at it, and the four nearly full flutes of champagne. She gives an acknowledging, short hum.

  


"I'm sorry for not telling you where I was going, Lola." Butters says softly. "Well gee... If it hadn't been for Kenny here, I don't think I'd be in very good shape. This fella was getting kind of carried away, huh?" He looks down over the corner of the bed at the man lying on the floor.

Lola looks to Kenny again, and then nods, the anger gone from her eyes. "I'll get him out of here. When I come back, you should be dressed."

"Only if Kenny can stay."

"Oh, Butters... I don't know. I didn't mean t-" Kenny wants to apologize for messing up his old friend's good time. If he hadn't told Butters about he text, then he probably would have gotten laid, like he wanted. He didn't tell anyone to stop anything until he was nervous over Lola showing up. BJ definitely deserved to get knocked upside the head, and Kenny doesn't regret _that_ , but he feels guilty.

"You'll be dressed and alone when I come back." Lola says, her voice not welcoming any argument.

"Oh for the love of Peet... Lola! Well... see, no!" Butters face flushes and his balled up fists hit the bed on either side of his lap. "I want him to stay! So, if I want him to, he's going to! I'm an adult, gosh darnit. I can take care of myself, and well... I'm your boss. So..." He takes a breath and steels himself, like he's readying a hefty threat, "if he can't stay, I'll be awful sore at you."

Kenny looks over at her, then gives BJ another nudge with his foot. "I'll sleep on the couch, Lola."

"Aw but Kenny-"

"AND I'll keep my clothes on." He offers, keeping his attention focused on Lola.

"Fine." Lola says and moves to pick BJ up and swing him over her shoulder.

"She's a keeper, dude," Kenny says with a grin, and looks over to Butters. "Don't be sore at her."

She groans, but it sounds like agreement. Kenny watches her walk out, then lets out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Kenny?"

"Yeah Butters?"

"Can you hand me my shorts?"

"Yeah." He moves over to grab them off the floor, and hears Butters shifting quickly. Thinking he's going to do something like approach him, Kenny jerks his attention back. Just in time to watch him hurl over the side of the bed and into a waste bin. Cringing, Kenny cautiously approaches to pat Butters on the back.

"N-Never mind..." Butters says breathlessly.

"Okay. I'll get you some water, then, okay? Did you take any of that stuff?"

Kenny waits as Butters vomits again, and mutters, "what stuff?"

"The pills in the envelopes."

"Gee, I should have, huh? I handed it all out.

"That's okay. I'm glad you didn't. I gave mine away, too." Kenny says and leaves to pull a bottle of water from the mini-fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no bussy pounding for Butters yet


	8. Lu lu lu

Butters distinctly remembers taking three men to his room last night, a cell phone video, and a phone call he'd made to Paris to share in the details of his sexual conquests.

Well, he doesn't _really_ remember the conversation with Paris, but her name is on his call history in his cell phone. 

When he wakes up, it's with only one man around. He's not looking at them, though. He can just hear him moving about while he pulls his cell phone to the pillow and looks at it. There's the notifications about responses to his video, and there's something like twenty new photos in his camera roll. He's not ready to deal with Any Of It, and sets the device face-down on the pillow beside him. Butters is too busy being cocooned inside the down comforter on the bed in his hotel room. 

  


He can hear that other guy approach the bed, but not jostle him. Everything feels soft and wonderful, and Butters sighs and snuggles in, ready to get some more sleep until he hears the sound of a phone camera shutter. That's when the headache really kicks off, just as a little stab between the eyes before blooming painfully through him with explosive, dizzying speed. To combat it, he groans. It's not very effective.

"Damn, Butters. Two guys at once, huh?"

The voice sounds teasing. Butters whines over the agony that is his hangover. "Stop yellin' so much, fella..."

A quiet laugh meets his demand, and then Butter's world shifts quickly and horribly before settling when whoever else is in the room decides to jump onto the bed. Butters glances about with tired, squinting eyes, despite the fact that his blinds are shut and the room is pretty dark. The man next to him is lying face down against the sheets. All he can make out is a mess of gold-blonde hair.

  


"Mrph rmhmhm rmh rmphm... rm." 

Butters sits up with a start. "Kenny?!" He grabs one of the man's shoulders and flips him around suddenly.

IT IS! That guy!! That guy was Kenny the whole time?! _That_ Kenny! "You're **that** Kenny!

"Hey." Kenny says with a fond smile. "Are you _that_ Butters?"

"That's me!"

  


Butters can't believe it! This is Kenny McCormick?! He's grown up! He's in Butters' bed! Butters... did some stuff he can't remember... oh no.

Unlike Butters, Kenny is fully dressed. He's wearing a navy blue t-shirt over the fishnet hoodie Butters recognizes as his own from the night before, and some charcoal grey joggers. The hungover blonde looks him over in disbelief, eyes wide open. They're staring at each other in silence until Butters' eyes start to fill with tears. What did he _do_?!

"Butters? Hey... what's wrong?" Kenny sits up and watches as his friend pulls the covers up and over himself. Thinking he's embarrassed, Kenny looks away, "I got you some-"

Butters gets up quickly to escape into the bathroom. At first, Kenny thinks it's just to get away from him. Maybe his hangover is worse than he thought, despite Kenny doing his best last night to make sure he would be hydrated enough for it to not knock him on his ass... but he can't hear him being sick. Kenny fetches some pain-killers and a glass of water, and by the time he's at the bathroom door, he can't make out any noise through it. "I brought something for your head." He says, tapping one knuckle gently on the door.

"I'm disgusting! Go away!" Butters hollers tearfully.

  


Kenny sighs and leans his head on the door. "No you aren't. You just got pretty drunk..."

There's an audible sniffle, and the door cracks open so Butters can look through the narrow opening at Kenny with a teary-eyed expression. His face is flushed, but crying has made the blue in his eyes the brightest Kenny has ever seen. He's breathless for a moment as Butters weakly asks, "Did we have sex?"

Kenny shakes his head slowly and offers the medicine and water.

"You said you wanted to make a video like Paris. I was just your camera man. I wouldn't have sex with you, Butters." Admitting that changes the hungover blonde's expression from curious and embarrassed to one of dejection. He probably took that last sentence the wrong way. Kenny's quick to amend it, "Not when you were drunk like that. Do you even remember anything?"

Butters sure wishes he did, but shakes his head. "No... But I don't regret what I did!" Maybe he topped? His body doesn't feel any different than most mornings after he drinks too much.

  


"Well, you put it up on the internet for anyone to see. I- uh... well... I'm not going to tell you what you can or can't do with your body, but if you can't remember what happened, it'd be like I was taking advantage of you." Kenny would want him to give consent. 

Butters pouts, sniffles, and opens the door all the way to let his friend in with a muttered, "thanks." Kenny accepts the invitation, eager to have a conversation with him now that he's in a more reasonable state of mind, even if it is in a hotel bathroom. 

"It's okay... I would want to remember..." Butters admits as he sits down on the toilet seat cover, takes the medicine, and drinks the water before handing the empty glass back to Kenny.

"You can see a video of _me_ getting fucked by someone if you want. I might have something like that on my phone..." Kenny hopes that offer will make Butters smile. From what he can see, Butters doesn't seem too torn up about taking three guys up to his room. Hopefully, being open about his own slutty tendencies will make Butters more comfortable. Sure, Kenny's not putting any sex videos on the internet, but he doubts anyone would want to see that, anyways. Right now, he just wants to cheer up his friend.

It seems to work, as Butters giggles at the idea and watches Kenny walk out to get more water. Kenny's so nice, and he's grown up to be incredibly handsome. The view from behind isn't bad, either, but maybe he's always been attractive. Thinking back on it, memories of Kenny are of him in a thick orange parka. He was like... the human embodiment of inexpensive orange winter layers. There was a human shape to him, sure, but this is different. 

They're both adults, and Kenny's taking care of him. He's got all of Butters' attention, and he's getting up to follow him out of the bathroom.

Butters is glad he hadn't had sex with a childhood friend last night. He would have wanted to remember an experience like that! Maybe Kenny would consider something now that they're both sober? Butters walks right up and pushes himself flush with the shorter man's back, "I think I'd like to be responsible... Kenny... for that kind of thing. Not see someone else do it."

  


"Woah-!" Kenny drops the glass into the empty ice bucket, straightens up a little, then turns, putting a hand on Butter's shoulder to make him take a step back. "I was kind of hoping to catch up first, Butters" It's not unpleasant to be with someone so forward, but Kenny's tired from the previous night. He's also just wanting to chat. It's not that Butters isn't attractive, he's adorable, really! Kenny's curious about what he'd be like sober, and now that he's grown, what all has changed. They have a lot of catching up to do, and no matter how much Butters whines and rubs himself against him, he won't just give in to his urges. Butters isn't some whore.

Butters pouts at Kenny. Paris had given him plenty of examples on how to use sex appeal to get whatever you want. He's confident he can get Kenny to cave, and reaches past him to grab an ice cube. There isn't one, but there are cold bottles of water, probably fresh out of the mini-fridge beneath the counter that's holding the ice bucket. He takes one and brings it up to trace it along the back of Kenny's neck.

At the cold contact, Kenny stiffens and sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth. Oh god, at least it's not ice. He's never tried hot/cold play, but always thought it'd be something he could get into.

Butters only uses him freezing up to his advantage by rubbing his own body against his. "Oh, we have a lot we can do to catch up," He seems to purr, his hips pinning Kenny. The condensation on the bottle gathers at the fine hairs on Kenny's neck and trickles down beneath the collar of his shirt. Kenny shifts to move away, eliciting a moan from both of them. He's got to do _something_ , since he's definitely getting into this, and so he'll just... look up and over Butters' head, at the ceiling of the room, trying to imagine things to calm down the rapid flow of his blood southward. He can imagine things like... uh... corpses? Cartman and his man titties? Oh... but then he starts thinking about titties.

  


"Lu lu lu~" Butters sings softly, leaning in to Kenny's ear. "You've got some _apples_ " And he grabs Kenny's crotch right through his joggers.

" _Holy shit_!" Kenny breathes, but doesn't push Butters back. A very sexually dominant Butters was not something he anticipated, and oh god, it's so hot. His jaw clenches, shoulders raising at the way he can feel that breath fan out by his ear.

"Lu lu lu, I've got some too..." Butters kisses softly at Kenny's neck and can feel him hum agreeably in response. He licks up the water that had trailed down, and still is, considering Kenny has the bottle positioned under his head. "Lu lu lu let's make some applesauce~"

Kenny chuckles at the song and pushes Butters back. He doesn't want this to stop, doesn't want Butters to think he wasn't into that because -oh fuck- he is... BUT, he wants it later. Much later... when it's on his terms. Kenny wipes his neck with his free hand, and steps past him. "Get your things, Butters! We're going to South Park!"

"Aww but Kenny... I don't want to..."

"If you want me, Mister Biggles, you've got to get into my heart _before_ my pants."

"Aw... _Fiddlesticks_ ," Butters grumbles as he moves to pack up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short! I hope you enjoyed it despite that!


	9. I'm Only Sour at You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I can't wait to get into the real meat of this fic, and I appreciate everyone sticking around or just swinging by to check this out!

They're both packed for their trip to South Park, but Butters is dawdling, looking at Kenny and bumping his knuckles together nervously. 

"Is that all you packed?" He asks as Kenny slings a drawstring bag over his shoulder.

"Yep! It was pretty light, but I got some of that 'Butterscotch Apple' for Karen when the line was launched!" It doesn't look any heavier with the way Kenny is carrying it so casually.

"Karen?" Butters looks nervous. Maybe she's some girlfriend of Kenny's, and he's crossed so many lines! _So many,_ he thinks, and starts unknowingly bumping his knuckles together.

"Ah, I guess you never really got a chance to meet her before you left South Park. Karen's my little sister." Kenny says as he leads them out. Butters hadn't packed much, and left quite a lot of his belongings in the hotel suite. Lola had agreed to drive them about, wanting to keep a close eye on Kenny, and allow the limousine driver a break from the spoiled young man's whining.

"Aw! Ken, if you'd have told me sooner, I could have given you a bunch to take to her! You didn't have to spend your money on that stuff!"

"That's sweet, Butters. Maybe if she likes it, you can get her a perfume? I just got her some body spray." Because that was the cheapest option, and there'd been so many different varieties of the same fragrance. "There were so many, too, so maybe you'd pick out something better. The Butterscotch one, though..." He hums thoughtfully. How should he put this...?

"Is that scent your favorite?" Butters asks, wondering if Kenny had sniffed a bunch before landing on it, or if he'd bought it simply because it was during Butters' launch.

Kenny blushes slightly and scratches the back of his neck, "Yeah. But the name kind of reminded me of you."

"Aw... Kenny." Butters smiles. "I'm glad you could tell!"

  


"Did you develop it?" 

"Yeah! I'm real proud of it! Even the body spray has a long lasting scent! The apple also keeps it from smelling musky, so it's clean and sweet!" He looks as proud as he sounds, then exclaims, as though he's forgotten, and may be scolded, "I think Miss Paris has some good fragrances, though! Not as good as Britney Spears', but still good."

Kenny chuckles. "Karen is going to love you, dude."

"Huh?"

"Well, you're more knowledgeable about this kind of stuff than I am. She remembered you when I showed her a picture of you, and was really looking forward to me meeting you. I wasn't sure if it was such a good idea, since the last time we saw each other, we were like, eight, dude. I'm glad I listened to her, though."

"You are? It's not like we were the _best_ of friends, Kenny. I sure would like to be, though!"

Kenny's climbing into the backseat of Lola's black sedan, and Butters slides right in after him. 

"Yeah. Of course we can be friends, Butters." He feels awkward. Maybe because he knew Butters used to consider him a friend, but it's been a while and no one has really been in contact with him. Maybe he can change the subject...

  


"So Butters, are you staying here in Denver for long?"

"Oh gee..." the taller blonde says and picks at his pants. "I was kind of hoping to stay with my parents for a little while."

"Aw... Butters, they moved away right after they sold you to Paris Hilton." How could he have not known that?

"Yeah, I figured that out on the way here. I should have known better."

Kenny feels himself bounce from awkward to guilty, and turns his head to knock his forehead to the window gently out of frustration. _Clearly_ this topic of conversation is bringing Butters' mood down. "Well, uh... Why don't you stay with me?"

  


"What?"

"Uh...?" Kenny pulls his forehead from the window, and looks over at Butters with a confused expression. He hadn't meant to just offer something like that. It's not his house to invite Butters into, and it's hardly livable enough for him and Karen. Why would Butters want to spend time with him in such a shithole? 

The confusion is more than obvious on Kenny's face, and Butters chuckles. Maybe he hadn't thought his invitation through. "No thanks, Ken. I don't want to inconvenience you."

"You wouldn't!" Whoa McCormick, way to sound desperate. Kenny clears his throat awkwardly. "We haven't seen you in years! Everyone's missed you!"

"Really?" Butters asks hopefully.

 _No_ , Kenny thinks. "Yeah! If you don't want to stay with me, you can stay here, or just get another hotel in town, right? That way you can still visit, and catch up for old time's sake."

"Well... I guess you're right. It won't feel the same if I don't stay there, will it?"

From the front seat, Lola clears his throat and jumps into the conversation, "We can stay a couple nights in South Park if you want, Butters." She knows he's hiding how hurt he is over his parents not wanting him around. But from what she's learned by being around him so often, he doesn't usually let anything keep him down. It's better that they drop this subject, and keep him positive.

"Whoopee!" Butters exclaims.

"I don't think it will feel the same no matter what happens," Kenny says softly, smiling kindly at the blonde beside him.

  


\------------

  


They're sitting at a booth in the back of Tweek Bros., close to a window while the afternoon sun lights up the entire shop. A large indoor palm brushes the glass above and behind Butters, and Kenny can't help thinking he looks incredibly attractive with lush greenery behind him. Maybe the plant is artificial, but it's definitely flattering Butters right now. The natural sunlight makes his sun-bleached hair look platinum, and as it filters through the fronds, it casts the rest of him in dappled sunshine. He looks exotic and out of place, but then... he is out of place.

Kenny feels like Butters is from an entirely different world, the way he stands out so much. Kenny's stuck staring at him, taking the time to absorb every detail of Butters' appearance to memory. He's got a round face, dimples on his cheeks, and a pink undertone to his perfect complexion. Butters is everything Kenny isn't. He's boyishly handsome, wealthy, and groomed to be attractive. Even the cloudiness of his left eye he'd noticed this morning is crystal clear. Sure, South Park is kind of a crappy little town, but it seems to be doing wonders for Butters' health... or maybe that's just his sobriety. He sighs, unable to stop admiring Butters.

"You okay, Ken? That's probably the third sigh I've heard from you, mister!"

"Huh? Oh..." He blinks and looks down at his coffee, then over at Butters' hot chocolate. Lola's seated a few tables away, reading a newspaper and enjoying her own cup of coffee. "Yeah. I'm just tired, you know? Busy thinking..."

  


"Well, what are you thinkin' about?" Maybe that's why Kenny seems so tired. If he were more open about his feelings, maybe he can get some of that weight off his chest.

"You." Kenny answers honestly, then pulls his hood up to try to hide from some of his embarrassment.

Butters looks interested and leans forward over his hot chocolate, smirking at Kenny's obvious blush he's trying to hide in the fabric of his orange hood. "What about me?"

"Well..." Kenny may be embarrassed, but he's also a bit nervous and worried. How does he bring up his concerns without sounding offensive. He's never been great at being subtle. "You were pretty drunk during the launch of your perfume line," he mutters and starts to tug and toy with the drawstrings of the hood.

"Oh." There's obvious disappointment. Butters had been expecting Kenny to shower him with compliments, if the way he'd been dreamily staring at him meant anything.

Kenny's voice is growing muffled the more he toys with his hood, "And it was really early, and then you were drunk later ahm hmm mph."

"Well, of course I'd been drinkin' before the club, Ken."

"That's not what I mean," Kenny looks down at his coffee, then takes a drink from it to fortify himself. Hiding in his hood is helping, and he'd rather be honest with Butters than just assume he's alright. There had to have been some reason he was so drunk for almost an entire day. Sure, it's none of his business _why_ Butters had been in that state. He's pretty sure he's been in a similar position until Stan and Kyle got sick of listening to him, helped him sober up, and demanded he get out of the funk he'd put himself in. "I meant... before, you know? When it was really early."

"Yeah. I drank a lot on the ride into Denver."

"Mphh?" Kenny's got his mouth leaned on the back of his hands, elbows on the table.

"Why? Oh... well," Butters looks a bit guilty. "I guess I was upset about my parents not being supportive, or wanting to see me."

"Rm mrph rhm mrph rmphm rm mrph mrphrm?"

"No. It's not always when I'm upset. Sometimes I... Well... I drink an awful lot for all sorts of reasons."

"Rmph mphh?"

"Like when I'm sad, or happy, or bored."

"Shmm-t! Mprph rm rpmh!"

"I know it's not healthy, Ken!"

Kenny just stares at him, concern visible in his honey-brown eyes. There's not much else visible, however. He sighs, then looks down at his coffee.

  


Now that there is a long enough pause in their conversation, Tweek approaches. He'd seen Butters and Kenny talking when he'd stepped out of the backroom, and decided to give them time to talk without interruption. Tweek doesn't really read the atmosphere between them, unfortunately.

"Do you guys need -ack!- any refills over here?" He asks, then pours more coffee into Kenny's mug without waiting for a response. Despite knowing who the young man sitting across from his coworker is, Tweek gives a little surprised gasp, "Is- Are you Butters?"

"Well, that's me!" Butters looks over at Tweek with a smile. He doesn't really want to talk to Kenny about his unhealthy drinking habit, and would rather catch up. "Oh! Hey Tweek!"

"Wow! You've really grown up well!" Tweek says as one of his eyes twitches. "Are you rngh-! going to be staying for a while?"

"Gee, thanks! Yeah, I've got a lot of catching up to do!"

"Is Kenny showing you-" He sets the carafe he'd been carrying down onto the table. "Showing you around? Not a lot has changed since you've been gone." It's not like anyone tried to replace him like Stan's friends had tried to replace Kenny that one time.

"He sure is! Kenny's been takin' real good care of me. Why, he's done really well of keepin' me out of trouble, so I'm in good hands." Butters says with obvious, gloating pride.

What little of Kenny's face that's visible is going a vivid pink. He turns his attention down to his coffee to avoid the excited smirk Tweek has directed his way.

"Oh! W-Well that's good! I'll let you two get back to ah-! to catching up while I help my dad out. Let me know if you uh, if you need anything. It was good to see you, Butters!" He'll take pity on Kenny and let them go back to their chat, concerned maybe he'd embarrassed him, or maybe wasn't wanted around.

"See you around, Tweek!"

  


Kenny mumbles his own gratitude, and continue sipping on his refilled coffee. He's trying to think if there's anything he can say to help Butters out, maybe insult his parents? He doubts that will help, so maybe just trying to change the subject to something else will help. Thanks to his hood blocking his peripheral, he misses Craig walking in and up to Tweek.

"Hey Ken... I sure am sorry for hollerin' at you. It's real nice that you're worried about me."

Kenny sighs. Butters hadn't hollered. He'd been understandably upset. He looks up at him with his expression still full of concern, but the blush diminishing from his face, "Mrph rmhmhm..."

"Well, how were you supposed to know I was upset? I didn't mean to make you worry. So... if it'll make you feel better, I'll try not to drink so much."

"Rhm, mph mh hmmkf mnhmhm huh mnhph."

"I know I can drink whenever I want, but I just got used to it, you know. Paris used to drink a lot too... Why, that gives me no excuse to do it, so maybe if I get upset... I'll just talk to someone."

"Hm. Why not just call me?" Kenny says as he looks up.

  


Butters doesn't respond. He's too busy watching Craig talk to Tweek, a puzzled expression on his soft face.

"What's up, dude?"

Butters gasps as Craig puts his arm around Tweek's waist and seems to whisper something in his ear. Then, he looks right over at Kenny, mouth hanging open. " _Kenny_!" He then hushes his voice so as to not attract any unwanted attention. "You never said that Tweek and Craig were a couple!"

Kenny looks over and laughs, "Yeah, of course not! It's not my business to go around telling people that. They've been together since the fourth grade."

"And I missed it?!" Butters sounds absolutely appalled until he spots Craig grab something from a cabinet by the backroom doors, hand it to Tweek, then give him a small kiss on the cheek. "Awww... I always thought Craig was kind of mean."

"Well, he's still an asshole to just about everybody except Tweek. Want me to call them over?" Kenny offers.

Butters sighs and then shakes his head, but stares at them with a longing expression. "They're such a cute couple."

  


Kenny doesn't feel surprised by Butters' reaction. Guess he does seem to be the romantic type. "You jealous?" He prods with a grin.

"Of course not, Ken! I'm only sour at you!"

"Hey! What the hell did I do?"


	10. Why do you need a bodyguard to eat pizza?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited this, and now it flows a bit better, I think. I hope. Oh well, whatever

  


Kenny's been giving Butters and Lola something of a tour through South Park. Tweek was right, not a lot has changed, but there are a few shops Butters doesn't recall seeing before, including a dollar store where the old Photo Dojo used to be. It's nice to just walk around, Butters thinks, comfortable with not being easily recognized. 

Until someone does.

"Hey Butters! What's your gay ass doing back here?" Cartman calls from the other side of the street. His voice gives Butters a slight start, but he's safe with Lola around. Stan and Kyle are with him, of course, but he remembers them usually hanging together, so it's not too odd.

Butters is embarrassed by Cartman's remark, but doesn't deny it. They cross the street so they can actually chat, and by then, he's not feeling as awkward. It's just not every day someone will yell out to him like his old classmates used to, and how Cartman apparently still does. "Well, I uh... It's kinda uh-"

"Cool." The fat young man says dismissively, "Tell me over pizza!"

"Yeah, dude!" Stan agrees, knowing that there's probably a long story Butters is going to share, so it'd be best if they did it somewhere they'll all be comfortable sitting in each others company.

Butters looks over at Kenny, who shrugs with a smile. He's hungry, and they didn't really eat much for breakfast.

They're walking to Cartman's mom's van when the fat young man stops and points at Butters' bodyguard. "Who the hell are you, and why are you following us?"

"Oh, this is my bodyguard, Lola!" Butters says with a cheery smile.

"Woah! What? Why do you have a bodyguard?" Cartman asks.

"Well, cause Paris Hilton would be upset if anything happened to him, fatass," Kyle explains.

Kenny's astonished that Kyle remembers what happened to Butters, but he's glad he didn't have to explain anything. He's got a natural tendency to keep his mouth shut whenever the guys start to talk, since they're inclined to bickering, and if he keeps out of their shit, he's less likely to suffer any 'accidents'.

"Holy shit! That would mean... Butters... you're hella rich!"

"No it doesn't, fatass! Butters is still just Butters!"

Okay, well that's kind of like saying he's not worth much, right? Kenny gets annoyed at that remark, but Butters takes it a different way.

"Yep, I'm still me!" Kenny resigns himself to not be upset if Butters isn't.

He's still Butters. But he's worth a lot of money, since Paris Hilton is rich. Cartman has a sick little scheming twist to his smile. Lola's going to get in the way, he thinks, looks at his van, then at the taller blonde.

  


"Why do you need a fucking bodyguard to eat pizza?"

"Oh... I uh- I guess I don't." Butters figures if he has Kenny around, he'll be okay. Plus, he prefers Kenny's company. Lola's not very talkative, and tends to be something of a party-pooper. He looks to her with a slightly apologetic expression on his face.

Kenny thinks Cartman makes a good point. Butters isn't likely to be in any danger, and he gives him a reassuring smile and nod. He'll look after him, it's no problem. If anyone could be in any danger, it'd be himself. It's been a long while since he's died, come to think of it. Maybe he should try to be more aware of his surroundings. Kenny takes a look around, trying to be casual instead of seeming as paranoid as he feels.

Lola seems to notice Kenny's concern, and looks him over instead of Butters. It seems she's fond of Kenny, or just trusts him to be a point of contact should anything happen to Mr. Biggles.

Kenny looks up at her curiously, and then they're all looking at her. "What?" He asks.

"Call me if anything happens," She tells Kenny. He nods and hands over his cheap cell-phone so she can put her number in.

"Okay. Sure thing, Lola." He accepts the cell and watches her walk away.

  


The drive into downtown isn't long at all, and Kenny feels ravenous. He's got money he hadn't spent on his hotel in Denver, since he'd stayed with Butters', and plans to use that to get some pizza for himself, and some to take home to Karen.

Once the food has arrived, they all dig in, but as usual, Cartman has no fucking manners, so starts talking while he eats.

"So Butters! Did you and Kenny meet at a club, and you've decided to become his sugar daddy?" 

Kenny chokes, then glares at Cartman. Is this how he's going to die? Choking on pizza because fat boy is just blurting out random, embarrassing shit?! He punches himself in the chest, coughs, manages to swallow down his food, then feels Butters rub at his back.

"No... Um, well actually. Yeah, kinda!" Butters chirps, causing Kenny to turn his head and look at him in astonishment. "You see, I was in Denver to launch a new line of perfume. I just happened to run into Kenny at a club, and we've been hanging out ever since!"

"Is that what you do now? Make perfume?" Stan asks.

"Yeah! It's pretty lucrative! Paris told me that my line is one of our most popular! You know, she's brought in over three billion dollars from her perfume brand. I hope I can contribute enough..."

"So, is she your adoptive mom or something?" Kyle asks. "I know your parents sold you to her."

"Dude, that was pretty fucked up," Stan says.

"That's okay. And yeah, she is! But, it's like she's my best friend, too! We do all sorts of things together!"

"Like what?" Stan asks.

"Hey Kinny, does he have a bleached asshole?" Cartman asks.

"How about you shut the fuck up, fatass?" Kenny growls.

Butters laughs, and the hand he'd rubbed Kenny's back with just pats his shoulder. "No! I don't. Paris and I did do that once, though. It's really not worth it."

"Eugh," Kyle thinks he'd rather go back to arguing with Cartman than think of Butters and buttholes in the same sentence.

"Well... I'm done eating," Stan says and pushes his slice of pizza away. Kenny takes it and eats it instead. He doesn't mind talking about Butters' butthole. He'd just rather not with Cartman.

  


"Ahahah! Weak! Did she help you with your diapers, too?" Cartman says with a wicked grin.

No one laughs at that. Butters lowers his pizza from his face, and everyone at the table is watching him. He wipes his hands and reaches into his pockets to pull out his cell phone, giving a little hum.

"Eh! Don't ignore me, asshole!" Cartman exclaims.

"I've been thinking, Eric..." Butters says with an eerily calm confidence. "Why don't I call Justin Timberlake up so you can confess your love to him? Why, you could do your Britney Spears impersonation! I'm sure a nice fella like him would find that's really something! I remember it was really good!"

Everyone but Cartman laughs at that, remembering the video Butters had shared with nearly everyone in South Park of Eric Cartman dressed up and singing, then making out with a cardboard cutout of Justin Timberlake.

"No way, dude! You don't have his number!" Stan says through a grin.

"Sure do!" Butters turns his phone so they can see the celebrities name on his contacts. "I can get most of them from Paris pretty easily, too! She wants me to meet a lot of people she knows!"

Cartman's face has flushed with anger, but he's just shoved more pizza into it. He's not going to keep up this line of conversation if Butters is going to fight dirty. Stupid prick.

  


"How's the pizza?" Kenny asks Butters, wondering how it compares to what the other blonde is used to eating.

"It's really good, Ken! I haven't had greasy pizza like this in a long time!" Which could be an insult, but Kenny thinks, with as skinny as Butters is, that his diet's probably been restricted while he's been living with Paris.

Kenny wipes his hands and takes his money out to go pay for his food when Butters puts his hand right back on his shoulder. 

"Don't worry, I've got you, Kenny!"

He doesn't want charity, and frowns, but his irritation at the offer is overpowered by fury at Cartman as he interrupts.

"Sure is nice of you to treat us to lunch, Butters! We better get going, though!"

"It was good to see you again," Stan says.

"Yeah, dude." Kyle says, then looks at Kenny, as though expecting him to come along and just leave Butters with the bill.

  


There had been a point in his life where he would have chosen to walk out with the guys, and save a few bucks with a full stomach, but Kenny isn't eager to leave Butters. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Stan and Kyle exchange a look before Stan follows after Cartman. 

"Okay, dude." Kyle seems like he wants to ask a lot of questions. He's probably holding back since Butters is within earshot, so he turns and follows his friends out.

"Boy, Eric is still an asshole," Butters sounds disappointed, like he believed that time would turn the fatass into some kind of angel or something.

"Yeah. Not much has changed, remember?" Kenny walks over to the register to help cover the tab. Butters beats him to it by handing over a credit card and saying "Put it all on here, please. Thank you!"

"Except you, I guess..."

Butters signs the merchant copy of the receipt, then turns to look at Kenny while they walk out, "What do you mean?"

"You've changed a lot!" Kenny points out.

  


"Uh- not in a bad way. When we were kids, Cartman used to get you into all sorts of shit, remember?"

Butters looks thoughtful. "Hey, yeah. There was that one time he pretended to be me on the phone, and called my dad a pussy. And then the time he had me hidden in a trash dump, convinced that the world had fallen into some kind of Apocalypse. Geeze, he's always been getting me into all kinds of trouble!"

Kenny is pretty sure that saying all of that out loud doesn't sound great. Butters is just highlighting how gullible he used to be. Maybe he doesn't realize... "Yeah, but you wouldn't get into trouble anymore."

"Hm?"

"Well, you used to let Cartman get away with saying whatever he'd want to you. Sure, you'd have stuck up for yourself, but not like what I saw you do there. You're a lot more clever now." He's chuckling, thinking of how Butters so cheerfully fought back. "And it's not like you were even mean about it. You're fun to be around, dude, and it's nice to see you stick up for yourself."

"It was pretty funny to see him get all angry like that," Butters admits, looking a little satisfied remembering Cartman's face.

"Yeah, and you should feel good about it." He nods in agreement. "You've grown up a lot, Butters. I know the other guys didn't say it, but I know they think so too, that you've really done a lot for yourself. We're proud of you."

"Aw, thanks Ken."

  


There's a few moments of quiet between them, that's not awkward, but it's clear Kenny is thinking. He wants Butters to know how he feels. He wants him to be happy to come back to South Park, because Kenny's glad he's gotten the opportunity to catch up with him. There's nothing for him here, but he'll probably be successful wherever he goes. "I'm proud of you, dude. You're going to have an amazing future no matter what you do." He looks over his shoulder at him, puts an arm around his shoulders, then pulls him close. "And no matter where you go, you'll always have friends to come back to here. Your parents may not be around, and for that, I'm sorry." Kenny feels like he should hug him, but he holds back. He backs up, hands on Butters' shoulders, and looks into his eyes. "But... I'm happy you came to South Park."

Butters just stares at him, blue-green eyes wide.

Kenny hopes he took that well, and he smiles before giving him a gently concerned little smile. "Butters?"

"That's... Kenny, that's just about the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me..."

"Yeah, well. You should hear stuff like that more often!" Kenny says. "I mean it, you know. I'm proud of you, and... I wish you could stay here. Having you around makes me really happy."

"Aww Ken... You're just saying that..." He feels bashful and brings his knuckles together, bumping them and worrying his lips.

Oh, that touched look on Butters' face is worth it. It fills Kenny with so much enthusiasm. "No! I mean it!" He exclaims and grins. "You're the best thing to ever come from South Park!" This guy's got to know how proud he is, and how proud everyone else should be.

"And you're free to do whatever you want! You can and you _should_ be proud of yourself. I'm proud of you!"

Butters gives a giggle and raises one of his hands to his mouth, flattered. "Aw Kenny... Stop..." There are people staring at them. It's probably the first time Butters has had so much attention and felt spoiled about it. He doesn't think he deserves it.

"Nope. Not gonna," Kenny says and drops his hands from his shoulders before smirking at the little blush building on Butters' cheeks. "Leopold Biggles, I'm proud of you."

Butters' feels like his cheeks are on fire, and so he hurries to put his hands up and hide just how intense his blush is. "Kenny, don't..."

"You know, I think everyone should hear." Kenny says with a nod before backing up and holding open his arms. He takes a deep breath, and grins when he can hear Butters burst out in a loud giggle at watching so much enthusiasm.

"LEO, I'M PRO-"

" **KENNY!** "

  


Kenny doesn't have any time to look at the oncoming vehicle. There's only a split second of realization that maybe proclaiming his pride in the middle of the street was an incredibly stupid idea.

It's so sudden that the vehicle doesn't stop, and just rolls right over him as if he were a speed bump. Kenny rolls a bit from the impact, then settles on his side in the middle of the road. Another oncoming car stops, and its hazard lights turn on before the driver vomits out of their side door. Kenny's left there for a second, the matted fur lining of his orange hoodie ruffling with the breeze of cars passing in the neighboring lane. He hadn't even walked far from the sidewalk before the car had struck.

Butters rushes into the street, hands over his mouth as he approaches, tears blurring everything. He stops over the other blonde, blinks clarity and takes in all that he can. Kenny's not moving, his eyes are shut, and his mouth is hanging slightly open. Butters bends down to try and pick him up, hooking his hands in Kenny's armpits, and as he does so, Kenny's head lolls to the side, blood dripping out of his mouth to meet a large puddle that had gathered under him.

  


"Oh my god, Kenny!!" Stan exclaims out the rolled down window of Ms. Cartman's van.

"Call an ambulance!" Shouts the driver that is still parked in the middle of the road, blocking oncoming traffic from the lane of the accident.

"You bastards!" Kyle exclaims dramatically.

Butters drags Kenny's lifeless body to the safety of the sidewalk and picks up the cellphone that'd been knocked off of him during the accident. It has a crack along its screen, but he's able to dial 911 while staring down at Kenny's face. He can't look away, and tears keep welling in his eyes that he has to blink away. They're streaming relentlessly as he explains what's happened, and then hangs up, silently crying as the shock has left him numb with aching disbelief.

The phone in his hand starts to vibrate with a new phone call, but the paramedics are pulling Kenny away from him, and he feels powerless, knelt down on the sidewalk with blood smeared out horrifically in front of him. Eventually, he brings the phone to his ear, giving a weak little "'Ello?"

" _Kenny_?" A disbelieving female voice says from the other end of the call.

Butters pulls the phone back to see Karen's name on the screen, and he chokes out a small sob. Oh god, how can he tell her?

"Kenny? Kenny! Are you th-" The annoyance in the voice stops. Butters brings the phone back, and he's still trying to contain his sobs.

Karen's voice is incredibly soft. "Butters?"

"Th-that's me..." He answers.

"What happened?"


	11. Close to Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny wakes up in Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter killed me. I'm sorry. Also, it's a bit longer than some of the other chapters. I'm not sorry.
> 
> Update: I changed the chapter name, since it felt a bit like a spoiler

Butters is sitting at the kitchen table in the McCormick's old, decrepit house. He's got a Styrofoam cup of chamomile tea in front of him, and Karen McCormick crying next to him. 

When she called, it was to find out when Kenny would finally introduce them. She'd seen him when she was much younger, she'd said, but since seeing a picture of him a few days ago that Kenny had brought home, she'd been eager to actually talk to him. She'd told him she had given Kenny something of a makeover, and that her brother had been excited and nervous to see him, but was really good at acting so casual. Karen had been looking forward to pointing this all out and pressuring her brother to make a move. "He wouldn't stop asking me how he looked after he got a haircut, because he wanted you to notice him. I told him it wasn't noticeable so he'd try a bit harder. Please tell me he looked like he'd showered when you two met up."

Butters had laughed at that, watery and sad, but knowing that it would help to know something so personal. He'll never get to find anything like that out from Kenny, anyways, now that he's gone. It's kind of Karen to want to talk to him, to try and bring up her brother fondly, despite the way it makes Butters' chest ache.

He feels useless sitting about, since he can only offer his condolences. Butters feels hollow, hearing Karen cry. She's not trying to hide her sorrow, but she also isn't acting as devastated as Butters had expected. It'll probably take some time for the full impact of what has happened to sink in.

"It was so sudden," Butters says with a voice weak and whimpering. "I should have stopped him."

He'd said he didn't want to talk about Kenny's sudden, untimely death, but he can't just sit here in silence while Kenny's little sister mourns beside him. Neither of Kenny's parents are aware what's happened. His dad isn't home, and his mom apparently did some heavy drugs and passed out. Karen had told him that she tried to wake her, but it would be likely she'd only be conscious by the next day. 

Butters feels terrible. Guilty.

He doesn't fit in, all rich and clean, and in this beat-up house that used to hold his favorite person in South Park. He'd never told Kenny that. Sure, he'd liked him when they were kids, but thinking back on it, he's always thought that Kenny was the only really decent person around. Based off of how Karen has treated him so kindly, despite only knowing him for a short while, he'd say that she's taken after her brother. South Park was turning into somewhere he wanted to be.

And now he's gone, and Butters feels he's responsible. He thinks maybe everyone was fine with him being in California, that maybe Kenny would still be around if he hadn't found Butters at that launch yesterday. So much has happened in so little time.

"I-it's not your fault." Karen says and wipes her tears away. She's sad, but she knows Kenny will come back. He always does. But by then, Butters will probably be going back to Paris Hilton, and Kenny will miss his chance to admit his feelings. "He's always getting into trouble."

"I'm sorry," Butters says. It's probably at least the fifth time he's said it. 

Karen hugs him, and he rubs her back. It's been a long time since he's felt the need for comfort like this. It's not just something physical. He can get that from just about anyone. This is about being in the arms of someone who cares. Karen is a good sister, and probably considered a best friend by many.

"Can you stay here tonight?" She asks softly.

Butters looks at her, not surprised or confused, but wondering why she thinks she has to ask. He'd love to keep her company. She just lost her big brother, after all, and her parents... well, Butters has a feeling that they don't particularly care. If Mrs. McCormick won't be conscious until tomorrow, like Karen had said, then he can break the news to her in the morning. "Sure."

She smiles, "He really liked you, you know?"

He feels cold and her words make the longing in his chest reverberate through every inch of his body. It's probably his soul that's hurting, he things. The words sound like the echo of something he's always wanted, but can't ever have.

"Yeah." That's part of the reason he died, because he was going to shout his praise in the middle of the street, like an idiot. Butters' eyebrows knit together, angry and sad all at once. He wishes there were some way he could yell at Kenny. "I know." He kind of wishes he didn't. Why was Kenny so certain _then_. What awful timing.

Karen pulls away and frowns at her feet. She's probably told Butters many different ways, too many times that Kenny liked him.

"I liked him too." Butters says, but he still feels angry. Now he'll never get the chance to have a relationship with him. He could have taken Kenny out of South Park. He could have taken Karen, too, probably! Paris would be happy for him. But now... he's feeling once again, that coming to Colorado was a mistake. The guilt is repeating itself. He drinks his tea, and it's already gone cold.

"I uh..." Karen starts, and Butters looks at her.

"I know it's silly, but I like to sleep in his room. When he doesn't come home some nights. It makes me feel safe." She admits.

"That's not silly." Butters says, his frown falling away. "He... kind of made me feel safe, too." Hell, even Lola trusted him to keep Butters safe! "He took real good care of me when he found me in Denver."

"Well..." She braces herself. "If you stay here... At least until..." Oh, why can't Kenny just come back now? It's always so inconsistent. "We go through all his things..."

"I can stay as long as you need me to." Butters says. Jesus, her brother _just_ died less than two hours ago, and she's already worrying about cleaning up his room?! Maybe doing that will help him feel like some good has come from his visit.

"Then..." Karen sighs and shakes her head. "You can stay in his room, too."

"Well, I guess that's okay."

  


"Yeah. I'm going to stay with his family for a bit. Don't worry, Lola. I'll be okay." Butters says with a tired sigh before he walks back into the house and his bodyguard returns to her vehicle. She's going to give him a few days and stay in their hotel in Denver in case he'll need her. For now, he's just going to keep Karen company and hope that he can help the McCormicks throughout this hard time.

  


Karen's brushed her teeth and has pulled her hair into a braid instead of the piggy-tails he's seen her in. She smiles and moves aside to let him brush his teeth as well. She'd seemed really excited upon seeing his "beauty bag," and he'd given her one of the perfumes from the line that had launched. Butters knows it doesn't really mean very much, but he knows that Kenny would have wanted her to have it. He was always such a thoughtful person.

"Kenny usually puts my hair up for me. Does it look okay?" She asks. Butters turns off the bathroom light and follows her into Kenny's room, looking over the braid she'd done in her brown hair. He actually has experience with hair, since he used to help Paris with hers, but he hadn't wanted to offer to do anything like that for Karen, since that was something Kenny used to do.

It still feels unreal that he's gone.

  


"Yeah." When they walk in, he looks around. Kenny's room is spacious, but that's probably because it has practically nothing in it. There's a dresser that's missing a knob on one of the drawers, and a couple are bent, while the wood is scratched up. Kenny's probably had it since he was little.

There's a dingy mirror on the wall behind the door, a closet with rusty door rails on the other, two twin mattresses stacked on top of each other as a sorry excuse for a bed in the corner by a window, and that's it for any luxuries. The nightstand by the bed has books, and some magazines Butters isn't too interested in pulling out, and there's an empty glass, topless aquarium near the end of the bed.

Butters never knew Kenny had any pets, but he sees some rodent droppings in another corner of the room. So... maybe at one point, he had a rat? The carpet is in sorry shape, the walls are marked up, and there are ratty orange curtains over the window. By the looks of it, there's not really a lot of stuff it seems he and Karen will have to go through. The only feature that makes this space stand out as Kenny's room is the crayon letters written on the wall above the bed, faded with age but very much spelling out "Kenny" in spaced out, childish handwriting. There is a large poster of a swimsuit model above the bed, but that looks just as aged as everything else around them.

Butters moves over to the aquarium as Karen gets into Kenny's bed. She sighs and turns away to face the wall, probably trying to settle in and get comfortable despite the ache of losing her brother. In the top drawer of Kenny's dresser, Butters finds a pistol, and some laundry that looks to be haphazardly stuffed in. He blinks his surprise, then starts to wring his hands. Geeze, he never knew Kenny had a gun.

  


"Are you okay, Butters?" Karen asks softly.

Butters looks over at her, frowning. Is _she_ going to be okay? Why aren't more people upset about this?!

"You know... I should probably tell you, even if you think I'm crazy..."

"Tell me what?"

"Kenny will probably be back in the morning."

  


"No, Karen. I watched him get hit by a car. He's... he's very dead." Butters says, and in doing so, feels reality hit him harder. He feels his eyes sting.

"Yeah, but only right now. He'll be back in the morning, and you probably won't remember him dying. It's okay." Karen says. "No one ever remembers him dying."

Butters wants to scream at her, but she looks so sad.

"I'm not crazy." She says, realizing that Butters is looking at her with a troubled expression and obvious disbelief. "I can prove he'll come back."

"What-" She can't! But if she can... "How?"

"You can't go to sleep. You've gotta see him come back. Once you do, you won't forget anymore. Kenny dies all the time, and comes right back."

Butters shakes his head.

"He's probably told you. He's told a lot of people."

"No... I-I would remember something like that." Butters stammers.

"You want to, and that's nice. But... once you go to sleep and wake up, he'll be back, and you'll think he just went and goofed off somewhere. If you _really_ want to remember, you've got to stay awake." Karen yawns. "And mom will come in with him, so now you won't be so surprised."

He looks behind him at the bedroom door, and it doesn't open or anything.

"Not right now, geeze. Sometimes it takes Kenny a while to come back."

"So why do you think he'll be back tonight?"

"Because he wants to. Kenny probably doesn't want to miss spending time with you. He usually comes back really quick if he's got something important he's gotta do."

  


Butters moves over to the bed, but just sits with his back against the wall while Karen starts to fall asleep beside him. He won't go to sleep. Instead, he'll take out his phone and send a few texts to Lola. It's getting late, but he doesn't feel too guilty. She'd told him to text her if he needed to, and he remembers telling Kenny he'd talk to someone if he got upset. Now is just as good a time as any.

He doesn't feel upset for very long, just tired. But as he's starting to nod off, he can hear someone yell loudly down the hall. Butters starts and reaches out to shake Karen's shoulder with one hand. The other flips on the light on Kenny's bedside table.

"Hmm? Whatsit... Butters?" She mumbles sleepily and rubs one of her eyes.

"It-it sounds like someone's in trouble," Butters says, clearly very scared. They're both quiet, listening, when he hears another noise. This time it's closer to a scream of pain, then a groan.

Karen sits up. "Oh. It's just mom. Hang on." She walks over to the door, then frowns. "Can you get one of Kenny's hoodies? I'll be right back, okay? Stay here."

Butters watches her, then gets up to hurry and rummage through the dresser drawer. There are a lot of orange hoodies, he realizes. He grabs a lightweight one, considering it's not terribly cold in the room, then gets up, wondering if he should go after Karen. 

She told him to stay, though, so he sits down with the hoodie in his hands, looks down at it, and sniffles sadly. Maybe Karen will let him take one back to California with him when he leaves. Butters cries for a bit, just remembering how sudden Kenny's death was, but relieved that it was so quick. He thought he'd be done crying, for sure, but the pain is fresh now that he's holding one of Kenny's garments. Karen said he'd be back, but Butters can't get the image of his face out of his head. It's probably going to take him months to move on.

  


He's waiting on the bed, wondering if Mrs. McCormick is alright. She'd been screaming something fierce for a good while, but it suddenly stopped a few moments ago. Butters can hear someone approaching the room, and he's relieved to see that it's Karen. She looks relieved, too.

She steps in, holding an infant in her arms and looking exhausted. "Sorry, Butters. Mom's getting a little old for this, but she's okay, too."

Butters watches in shock as she walks right up to him, sits down on the bed, and then takes the hoodie. She looks at him for a moment, and then he's staring at the infant.

"Did your mom... Did she just have a baby?" He asks. Kenny never said anything about another young sibling, or his mom expecting.

"Yeah. It's Kenny." She answers, swaddling him in the orange material before handing him to Butters.

  


"Oh! Jesus!" Butters gasps, accepting the baby and freezing up at the unfamiliar weight. He's never held a baby before! It's... not as heavy as he thought it would be, and it's not squirming much, either.

"Kenny doesn't really cry. He mostly just sleeps," Karen says as she brings her hand over and wiggles her index finger into one of his tiny hands. The infant holds on to it, cooing gently, and giving a barely audible little grunt.

"What?" Butters asks, looking at Karen, then at the baby. 

"It's Kenny." Karen says.

"..." He looks at the baby, frowns in confusion at it, then frowns back at Karen.

"This baby... is Kenny." Karen says. "He always comes back like this. He'll grow up all the way... usually about a year an hour. Sometimes it's faster."

Butters begins to rock the infant gently in his arms, astonished and listening to him make soft cooing noises in his sleep. "He's so small, though."

"Yeah. Mom doesn't even get pregnant. She just suddenly delivers him. I think he always starts the same, and it's been a while since this happened. Maybe he'll grow up to be taller this time?" She giggles. "Probably not."

"Kenny..." Butters says, and it seems the baby hears him, as it wiggles a little inside the hoodie. He smiles and feels his eyes tear up a bit. He can't believe it, but he's going to try. If this is Kenny, then this is him taking care of the most important person he's ever met when they are _really_ vulnerable. "Oh _Kenny_ ~" He softly says, hoping that Kenny will seem to recognize his voice.

Karen giggles and wiggles her finger near one of Kenny's cheeks, then his neck. He squirms even more, seemingly bothered instead of happily tickled.

Butters gives a little insulted gasp at Karen, then shifts him closer to his chest and away from that wiggling finger, "Don't tickle him!" She just keeps on giggling, but listens to him.

Kenny starts to fuss a little more, as if afraid that it'll start again. Beneath the cover of the hoodie swaddled around him, Butters can see the tenting of fabric where little feet push and kick. Kenny's face scrunches up and goes pink, his gentle breaths turning into annoyed little 'ehh! Mmeh!!' noises. They don't get loud, but he's clearly upset and going on noisily squirming in Butters' arms.

Butters is torn between feeling amused, and being incredibly worried by hearing Kenny seeming to grow further agitated. He shifts the tiny body into the bend of one arm so that he can rest a warm palm over Kenny's covered belly. Maybe he's cold, so Butters tucks the fabric up, but not before a tiny fat fist pokes out. Kenny waves it weakly, then pats it on whatever he can reach. 

"Shh... shhhh..." Butters looks over at Karen helplessly, but she just smiles and gets up and leaves. "Oh hamburgers... shhh Kenny... Hey.. Um-" The baby wiggles more, so he gently rocks him, and then plants a little kiss to one of his cheeks. That does nothing, so he brings one hand up to cradle the back of his head, the other slides down so they're crossed, and he brings his face closer. Maybe... he needs to be changed? Butters doesn't try to obviously smell him, cause that's weird? Or isn't it?

"There there, little buddy..." He says softly, voice quiet since he's pushing his face very gently against Kenny's little one, giving him some more little kisses. Slowly, the fussing is stopping. Maybe Kenny just needed to feel covered by another person? Butters pulls his head back and startles. "It's okay- ah!"

  


Butters hadn't been expecting Kenny to open his eyes. The baby is staring at him, his eyes blue and shiny above flushed, fat little cheeks. 

"Hey..." Butters says, astonished while he rocks Kenny some more. "Hey, it's okay... You can sleep now, okay? Gotta grow up big and strong, okay?"

"Wow!" Karen says excitedly as she walks back in with a pacifier. She puts it into her mouth, then walks up. Kenny looks over at her, coos and blow a few little spit bubbles. "His eyes are so blue!"

"Yeah," Butters agrees, voice still hushed as he rocks Kenny softly. He leans back against the wall, his head tilted so he can keep watching this baby version of his friend. "He's so warm.. " Kenny is back to staring at him, then yawns and his eyes droop shortly after. "Yeah... you are... Go ahead... Just go back to sleep." 

Karen slides the pacifier into Kenny's mouth, and the baby lets out a small hum as he suckles at it. There's a slight noise he's making, not quite grunts, but softer, and there are some lengthy pauses to it that seem to last as long as he blinks.

"Aww..." Butters watches as Kenny's eyes blink slower and slower, the pacifier drooping until he's breathing deeply and making hardly any noise. He's so worried about him falling asleep, that as Karen opens the door, he looks up quickly at the noise. "Wait, Karen! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to sleep in my bed. Kenny's going to grow up and take his bed up. He's a real blanket hog, okay? So, don't be surprised."

  


Butters flounders a bit, trying to figure out how he should share a bed with a baby without waking it. Still, it's just Kenny, and while it's a relief to know that, Butters feels terribly overwhelmed. Does Kenny need to eat? How fast exactly is he going to age? What if he wakes up and starts crying?!

Karen trusts him, so he's just gotta trust himself! If Kenny does this often, he's probably used to sleeping in his own bed and aging through the night with no one around. Huh. Guess Butters just has to accept that this is one independent baby, and he shouldn't have to intervene.

He wonders if he were to stay up, if he'll get to see Kenny as a kid again, or as a little pre-teen, or a toddler. It's hard to stay awake to do something like that, though. Kenny's such a reassurance, all snuggled up to his chest and occasionally making soft humming and snoring noises. Butters spends a moment struggling to find a good position, but ends up lying on his back, the baby lying on his chest. There, now he won't have to worry about rolling on top of, and crushing him.

  


Despite his desire to wake up and keep checking on Kenny as often as he can, once Butters falls asleep, he stays that way. It's probably the most restful sleep he's ever had, oddly enough. Sure, the mattress is old and kind of lumpy, but he's warm and so relieved by the weight steadily growing on top of him. It starts small, like the weight of Paris Hilton's chihuahua and then grows as the hours pass, but not uncomfortably so. It's almost like wearing a weighted blanket that spreads out and insulates his warmth. Kenny feels like safety Butters never knew he needed. 

His sleep is dreamless and deep. Not even the sound of a train rolling by in the darkest hours of the morning wakes them. The house isn't properly heated, and so it's as cold as the rest of South Park, but Butters doesn't feel it. There isn't a howling wind or a chill that could shake him out of sleep like this, where the world seems to right itself around him with each pound that the weight increases on top of his chest. Before it can become unpleasant, it shifts off him. That causes only the slightest disturbance, so he lets out a soft whine before it returns only slightly as an arm around him and he realizes that it's snuggled up to his side. Naturally, he turns and snuggles them back.

At one point, he remembers hearing his name, feels a soft kiss to his forehead, then he's colder. That arm draped over him slides off, and there's a shift of weight beside him. Butters groans and reaches out to seek Kenny. He doesn't often cuddles those he spends the night with, and he realizes with dawning clarity that he's now alone on the bed.

Before Butters can be too upset and wake up fully, Kenny is back, and crawling right up where he'd been just a few minutes before. Oh, it was just a bad dream, he thinks sleepily, and dozes back off again.

When the sunlight shines into the room, Butters wakes up. He's not sure why, considering he's never been much of an early riser. Upon opening his eyes, he's grateful and eager to be awake. It gives him plenty of time to look upon the young man he's spooning. Kenny's not dressed in the hoodie he'd been swaddled in last night, just wearing a pair of clean underwear. Maybe that's why he got up earlier, Butters thinks as his eyes roll over the broad planes of his shoulders and back. It's hard to tell if Kenny is fully grown, since it's like he ages in blinks and breaths. Regardless, this is definitely his Kenny pressed to his chest. Butters definitely prefers being the little spoon in most cases, but maybe he just needed the security of holding Kenny to be _sure_ he was and is still there.

As the minutes tick by, more light shines in through the moth-eaten curtains, leaving flecks of sunlight on Kenny's freckled face. Butters doesn't remember him looking so pale, but Karen did say it's been a while since this has happened. He props his weight up a little on one elbow, then lifts his hand up from around Kenny to brush through his hair. It looks like straw, thick and messy, and not cut well, but incredibly soft to the touch. Kenny's practically glowing with how clean and perfect he is, and Butters feels his eyes sting.

  


For some weird reason, Kenny smells like vanilla. Maybe it was because he spent most of the night snuggled up to Butters, who went to sleep in his shirt that'd held the scent of his warm-smelling cologne. Come to think of it, it is a familiar scent, so maybe it rubbed off on Kenny. It's a lot more of a musk, since it's mixed in with the natural oils of his skin, and he wishes he could bottle it up. He'd probably name it something that has to do with heat, or amber, or what he imagines a phoenix's ashes would smell like. 

Butters' fingers comb through his hair slowly, blunt, short fingernails trailing over his temples before burying in the strands. He gathers them, gently pulling them out of Kenny's face. He has a slight heart-shape to his face, and a little dip in the bridge of his nose that seems like a possible, long-ago break that never healed. Unlike Butters' jaw, this boy's is strong, but not wide, and his cheekbones are pronounced, probably because he doesn't eat very much. But gee, how does he keep any of his muscle weight? Butters looks him over again and decides he wants to go back to cuddling. He can stare at Kenny all he wants when they're awake, but he may not get a chance to keep this close. 

When Kenny doesn't stir, Butters moves closer, grateful that he's a few inches taller as he pushes his face into the other boy's golden hair. He closes his eyes and hums softly, then kisses, and can finally feel Kenny shift against him. Oh darnit. He doesn't want to stop. Butters opens his eyes again, then sighs, feeling a little defeated.

  


"Mnnn... Butters?" Kenny murmurs, then shifts. Butters can feel his heart skip as they're facing each other. How, oh _how_ is it that Kenny's morning breath doesn't smell like death when he... well... died? Butters notices that his eyes are brown like they had been before, and he watches Kenny blinks awareness into himself. "You spent the night?"

"Yeah," Butters smiles. Oh, he's going to give Karen all of the gifts he can think of for revealing this secret to him, to making him feel so happy. Butters worries his lips, then quickly presses a kiss to Kenny's forehead. Kenny gives a soft, pleased hum, so he continues to the bridge of his nose, then one of his cheeks. "I'm so happy you're back, Ken. I-I didn't know what I was gonna do i-if you didn't." Butters' voice is wet, and he realizes he's crying again. 

Kenny swings an arm over him and pulls him close, pressing warm kisses to his neck, then up to his chin, then he's snickering as he realizes he can't kiss further up from the angle he's at. Instead, he just sort of leans and moves up towards his ear. "I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to, okay Leopold?"

As happy as that remark makes him, Butters shifts at the name. "Aw Kenny... No body calls me that."

"Oh, so I'm nobody?"

"Ah-! No, I didn't mean it like _that_!" Butters turns his head into the pillow they've been sharing, wiping his face on it and then speaking into it. "Well... you're different. You can call me that if you want to, I guess..." Butters says before backing up so he can rest his forehead against Kenny's.

"I'll call you Leo, then," Kenny says. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah. I'd like that, Ken." Butters smiles, eyes shut as he feels an overwhelming wave of happiness. No one bothers to asking him for how he feels about much of anything these days. He never even got a say when Paris decided he'd go by -and she introduced him as- Mister Biggles. Most everything he's wanted, he's had to demand or learn to get for himself. It's a treat to be with someone who is honestly considerate.

  


"Do you, uh..." Kenny's thinking about it now, how Leo had seemed so upset a few minutes ago. "Remember everything?"

"Yeah. Everything. Karen told me," Butters admits with a soft, guilty voice. "I didn't believe her."

Kenny makes a small snort of acknowledgement, as if he thinks that that's a pretty typical thing to say.

"So, she invited me here, and told me I had to stay up. I got to see you as a baby."

Kenny blushes, because he really hopes that's not as embarrassing as he thinks it is. Babies are gross, and he's sure he was all whiny and weird looking. Like... a potato or something. Even though Karen's the best thing that ever happened to his family, Kenny thinks, she was still a baby. She was messy and noisy and gross. He'd keep thinking those embarrassing thoughts about himself as a tiny mess, but Butters speaks again.

  


"I just gotta know one thing, Ken..."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Why would you leave Heaven to come back to South Park?"

"..." Kenny can think of all sorts of answers, but naturally, the one that would probably make Butters swoon with how corny it is is cut off by the almost immediate reaction of laughter. "You think I go to Heaven?!" He gasps, trying to contain his mirth so as not to upset the other boy.

"Well, you just gotta, Kenny!" Butters says with such certainty that it gives Kenny pause.

"Honestly...? Uh. I think I wasn't gone for long enough to go anywhere. I remember telling you I was proud of you, then I remember waking up with you in my bed." He says.

"You definitely go to Heaven, Kenny." Butters says.

"Yeah, sometimes," He agrees with a little sigh. "But this is pretty close." Kenny kisses gently at Butter's neck again, but instead of working his way up the side by his ear, he goes right over his adam's apple, then stops on his jaw. He's cautious, but decides to throw his cares away. Kenny has never been much of a coward, so if this doesn't turn out how he wants it, oh well. Maybe he'll learn from his mistakes.

Not that it feels like much of one when he plants a chaste kiss to Butters' mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Butters wants to have Kenny's babies. This isn't that kind of fic. They'd make for some pretty cute dads, though, right?


	12. He'd Get Upset At His Own Farts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning** : Mentions of past child abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> I gotta admit that Bunny isn't my main South Park OTP, but I'm enjoying it more with every chapter. I'm getting to that point where I can't listen to a song _without_ thinking about how it relates to the ship.

Butters gasps at the feeling of Kenny's lips on his own. He pulls back for a second, but only to kiss again with a little more vigor. It's still very chaste, just closed, soft lips, warm from sleep and sliding gently against his own. He feels himself flush and get unusually dizzy before he actually does pull his head back.

"Hang on-" Kenny says and surges forward like a wave. He kisses him, still annoyingly chaste, and Butters whines before trying to speak against his lips.

"S-stop! You're makin' me all dizzy..." Butters opens his eyes and looks down, but Kenny seems determined to keep pressing kisses to him. They make him swoon, the way each one tickles and Kenny's talking right against his face, "That's not all I'm gonna make you feel."

Butters pushes him, laughing softly and holding him back. Wasn't it just yesterday that he'd tried to get into Kenny's pants? Why does he suddenly feel like he's treading unfamiliar territory? It's not scary or anything, it's just ~~rare he gets to feel like this without being intoxicated~~ a bit overwhelming. The laughter stops, and his expression takes on something more focused.

Kenny stops trying to assault Butters' flushed cheeks with kisses and instead rubs at one of his arms. He puckers his lips and makes little kissing motions at him, but that doesn't so much as trigger even a hint of a smile on Butters' face.

"Leo?" Kenny's voice is cautious, and he could probably steal a kiss to make Butters stop with that expression if he really wanted. He doesn't though.

"Ken..." He answers contemplatively. Butters tries to think through his feelings, not realizing that they are what's changed. They're pretty unfamiliar. It's not like he and Kenny are getting up to anything risky. It's honestly just cuddling and some soft kisses. This is fun and lighthearted, but his heart is beating fast, his palms a little sweaty, and he's more comfortable with Kenny than he's felt with anyone else in a while.

  


Why does this feel so different? Is it because he's not pursuing Kenny? Butters remembers that Kenny's always been something of a target, and a _willing_ one for just about anyone who wanted to experience him. Butters knew he was attainable, so can't recall what held him back.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the poor boy was the first in Stan's group to boast about hooking up with girls. He recalls Stan and Wendy being an on-and-off couple, but neither of them had the kind of charisma Kenny's always put out. Despite how desirable he was Butters can't really remember him holding down any serious relationships.

Why?

Did he just enjoy the freedom of being a bachelor? He was free to be with anyone he wanted, and a lot of people wanted him. Butters glances up a Kenny's face, his lips worrying as he thinks through old feelings and what's changed. What's leading up to this?

Kenny is handsome, and not in the sort of homely way Butters is. The way he dresses and carries himself with such confidence makes him seem rough around the edges, like some kind of bad boy, but anyone that knows him knows that he's an extremely caring person. So, Butters' attraction to him right now isn't just something physical. He knows that this guy is sweet, can see it in the warmth of his eyes above his sharp features.

He reaches a hand up and caresses Kenny's cheek. "Kenny, I think I uh... Oh geeze... I think I've fallen for you."

  


Kenny just blinks at him, then smiles with relief. Christ, but this guy had him worrying over nothing! "Okay? What are you gonna do about it?" He smirks and shifts his body closer to Butters'.

"Oh, well that kind of depends! Y-You're not seeing anyone, are you?" He turns his attention back down between them and pulls his hand back from Kenny's face. "I kinda came onto you yesterday without thinkin' how you felt, and I'm only realizin' that maybe that wasn't such a good thing... assumin' you would be okay with that and all..."

Kenny's expression softens, but of course, Butters is busy avoiding his gaze, seeming bashful and ashamed. He places a soft kiss to his cheek, "Nah... I'm not seeing anyone."

  


Butters looks at him suddenly, as if appalled to hear that answer. "Well why not, Ken?!" He makes it a point to look at him up and down, as if commenting with eye contact alone 'have you seen yourself?!'

Kenny stares at him incredulously. What...? Shouldn't it be a good thing that he's single?

"Ken, I remember you used to see lots of people. What happened?" This isn't the same promiscuous Kenny he left in South Park all those years ago.

Oh. "Shit, Butters... that's kind of complicated."

"Please tell me, Kenny. I don't wanna go steppin' on anybody's toes or nothing, and you used to be so happy bein' with other people."

"Well, I have to set a good example for Karen."

That doesn't feel like the entire story. Butters stares at him expectantly.

  


"And?" Kenny _can_ set a good example for Karen while being in a relationship. He's a really good person, after all.

"And no one wants to get into a steady relationship with a guy who can't be depended on."

"You're awfully dependable, Ken!"

He scoffs, then shakes his head. "What if I didn't come back last night?" Kenny asks. "What if I die and it takes me a month to get back? That's happened before! It's not like anyone can actually count on me to be anywhere when I'm supposed to."

"But Karen says you haven't died for a while. I mean, aside from yesterday and all..."

"Just because I have a couple weeks where I don't die doesn't mean it's not going to happen."

  


"Gee, Ken. I'm sorry, but that sounds like a bullshit excuse! People die all the time and don't come back. I don't think you should give up on tryin' to live every day to the fullest!"

"I'm not giving up." Kenny says and sits up, clearly agitated.

"It's like..." Butters hums. "An addiction? Or... maybe my problem with drinkin' too much."

Kenny looks over at him, a pout set on his face.

  


"Sure I have good times, and I don't need to drink. You have good days where you don't die." Butters explains simply, his tone hopeful. "But then some days are hard, and the alcohol is there to make things easier. You can just end your day and avoid trying to make it into something better." 

Anger flares up in Kenny's chest, and his posture grows rigid, "It's not like I _want_ to die, Butters!!"

Surprisingly, the anger doesn't put Butters off. 

"I'm sorry Ken. I didn't mean it like that."

There's silence between them, as if Kenny is holding his ground and waiting for Butters to tell him just what he meant, daring him to, actually.

Butters doesn't want a fight. He sits up and reaches out to Kenny, gently stroking a hand down his bare back. "I know you don't control that. I know you didn't want to die yesterday, so please..." He sighs, "Don't think I mean it that way."

"So then, what did you mean?" Kenny says.

Butters pulls his hand back and starts rubbing them together, not too confident on what he's saying, but knowing what he means is right. That's gotta count for something. "It's just... You can't miss out on taking a chance at being happy with someone just because you know eventually, something is going to happen."

When he puts it that way, Kenny realizes that he sounds and feels like a coward. It's been a few years since he tried to form any serious relationships. He's fucked around for the fun of it, but he really hasn't wanted to have someone look forward to him, only to end up disappointed because of one of his inconvenient and untimely deaths.

Butters takes Kenny's silence as a sign to continue. He's also slouching a bit, listening. "I think that maybe some of the best relationships are the ones people have to work through. It's awful sweet of you to want to make everyone around you happy all the time, but... you gotta do what makes you happy."

Without any warning, Kenny leans back, slumping to set his head against Butters' chest and staring out into his sorry excuse for a bedroom. He can feel Butters wrap his arms gently around him, and they're back to being comfortable, basking in each other for a few minutes.

  


"Sorry."

"It's okay Ken."

"I shouldn't have gotten angry at you."

"Well, I didn't mean to imply that you were suicidal or nothin'!"

  


"There was a time I told the guys that I couldn't die. Kyle thought it was cool, but it's not. It hurts... Almost all the time."

"I couldn't imagine it being any fun," Butters says in soft agreement before he kisses at the top of Kenny's hair. "I don't want you to die. I want you to live long and happy, and then, when you're too old to do anything anymore... then I guess you just go when you feel good and ready."

Kenny chuckles at the thought. "What if I come back?"

"Oh! Well... I don't really think you can, unless your mom stays the way she is forever."

"Hm?"

"She'd have to be able to have a baby so you can come back. It's not like you appear out of thin air!"

"So then, if I want to live until I'm old, we'll have to keep my mom healthy, and keep me out of trouble."

"Maybe keeping you out of trouble should be the main goal."

  


"I'll be careful."

"Not if you go yellin' in the middle of the street again," Butters says. "That was really stupid."

"Okay. I'll yell about you everywhere else then."

"Please don't."

"Right now? You got it." Kenny sits up and grins before spreading his arms in the same way he had yesterday. He takes a great big breath, but Butters knocks him over, throwing one hand over his mouth and shaking the pointer finger of the other in his face.

"No. Shh! Karen stayed up real late to make sure I got to see you come back, so she needs to sleep."

Kenny is quiet, but his eyes are squinting with the force of his covered smile. He licks at Butter's hand, making him squeal out of surprised disgust. "Aw! _Kenny_! Ew!"

"It's already ten." Another deep breath, "LEO, I-"

  


Butters tackles him, straddles his thighs, then frowns seriously. He balls up one fist at his side, then pulls it back a little. "Shush! Or I'm gonna hit you!"

Kenny doesn't take the remark seriously, especially because that fist is aimed at his crotch. He grins, and Butters frowns a little harder. " ** _OHhh~ Don't_ tease _me like that!!_** "

"Shh-!" God, this is embarrassing. Kenny's moaning loudly just to be obnoxious, and so Butters starts poking at his exposed sides in retaliation, tickling him.

Kenny's laughing breathlessly when the bedroom door bursts open and Karen stares at them, mouth hanging open as if she was going to yell angrily. Instead, she notices that her brother is not wearing anything -she can't make out anything through Butters sitting on him, and its not like underwear count for very much- and is moaning beneath their guest. 

"Oh my _GOD_!! Kenny, you're the worst!" She runs out, slamming the door behind her.

  


Butters jumps off the bed and scrambles to shout down the hallway, leaving Kenny howling with laughter on his bed.

"Karen! Nothing was happening, I promise-!" Butters yells, then watches as a man looks around the corner of the hallway from a couch in the living room and grumbles, "Just who the hell are you?"

Butters shuts Kenny's door. "Oh hamburgers! Your dad saw me!!"

"Huh?" Kenny finishes putting on a pair of distressed blue jeans, then a pullover orange hoodie. He walks past Butters and out into the hallway, leading their way towards the kitchen. 

Butters avoids looking at Stuart McCormick, and instead just takes in how dirty everything is. He knew it was already, but when you're actively trying to seem interested in the carpet, it's hard to miss how it's torn up in some corners. There's some broken glass, and some beer stains, or maybe it's cat pee?

"Hey old man." Kenny says as he turns around, and gently bumps into Butters. He puts a hand on his shoulder, moves past him, then hands his dad a beer. "This is Butters."

"Oh." He accepts the beer, then knocks its neck between the edge the couch and his palm. The cap jumps off and lands on the floor quietly. He doesn't even bother to pick it up, and neither does Kenny. 

  


Butters kneels down and does so, then looks at the man before them. He doesn't look too old, but then, maybe he's the same kind of way that Kenny's mom is... Where they don't seem to age at the rate most people do. They stare at each other for a moment, and Butters knows he's being sized up. It's intimidating and he feels frozen there, holding the bit of trash and not sure if he should properly and politely introduce himself, or apologize for entering this house without invitation from either of the home-owners.

It's not like he's a threat to this family, and Mr. McCormick doesn't seem like he wants to get up. He doesn't look pleased, though, which Butters doesn't expect. He just has to stand his ground and hope that his actions don't get Kenny in trouble.

After a solid minute of staring, Stuart lets out a dismissive snort, then takes a drink from the bottle. "Looks like a fuckin' queer."

"Thanks, sir!" 

"Ugh. Fuck, Butters," Kenny says with a soft groan of disapproval as he drags a hand down his face.

"Well I am, Ken. I'm not gonna deny it," Butters says proudly before he turns to go to the bathroom and collect the bag Lola had been kind enough to bring him yesterday.

Kenny's left awkwardly staring after him, worried his dad is going to angrily fly off the handle. He can hear him set down the beer bottle, and Kenny takes a deep breath.

  


From in the bathroom, Butters moves as fast as he can. He can hear Kenny and his dad talking, but the volume is raising quickly until they're shouting, and Butters doesn't want to listen. It's kind of hard not to, and he feels threatened, even though Stuart's anger is directed at Kenny. But what if Karen hears and tries to step in? What if he has to do something and ends up getting hurt?

He opens the door and is surprised to see Kenny's sister standing there with her fist raised, like she was just going to knock. Butters wants to ask if she's okay, but she hugs him.

"Oh!" He hadn't been expecting that. Butters wraps his arms around Karen in return, then rubs her back gently.

"Are you okay?" She asks, and he blinks in surprised before drawing back. Karen looks at the confusion on his face, and then smiles reassuringly before taking his hand and leading him down the hall and back into Kenny's room.

"Dad's always like this. His bark is worse than his bite though, unless he drinks too much." Karen says.

"But what about Kenny?"

"Oh, he'll be back here in a minute."

Butters looks uncertain, and can hear Kenny arguing with his dad. He doesn't want him to get into so much trouble that he gets kicked out.

  


"IF IT'S SO FUCKING BAD, WHY _DON'T_ YOU JUST LEAVE?!"

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T PUT ANY GODDAMN FOOD ON THE TAB-"

  


"Karen..." Butters says, tone pleading. He's not bothering to hide the fear on his face while his knuckles bump together. Any time his dad was angry with him, he'd beat him. He doesn't know how to do anything but worry, hearing Kenny carrying on the way he is. He can only think that Kenny's going to come back to this room in tears because his dad knocked some sense into him the way Mr. Stotch used to do to Butters.

Despite growing up with Paris Hilton and being in a very accepting environment, he hasn't managed to forget the fear that's welling up in him. It's unreasonable, he knows, but can't help it. He knows Kenny's dad isn't going to barge in and hit _him_ or anything, but he feels jumpy at the volume. It's like he needs to hide and can't, and he doesn't realize he's shaking with fear until Karen's hugging him again.

"Hey... it's okay... He's going to be okay..." She says softly, not understanding that Butters' reaction is built on past trauma that time couldn't shake away.

The door bursts open, and Butters throws his face into Karen's shoulder, and she glares at Kenny as he walks in and shuts it.

"What happened?" Kenny asks, his hood pulled up. If Butters were looking at him instead of cowering, he'd probably assume that it's some means of comfort or defense for the poor young man. Instead, when he does look over, it's with overwhelming, fearful concern. He assumes the worst.

"Kenny!" Butters gets up and moves over to him, looking at him carefully. "Did he hit you?"

"What? No. Maybe if I did, he might have, but he's gone. Stupid asshole..."

  


Butters still looks at him with vivid turquoise, fearful eyes.

"He didn't touch me. See? I'm okay." Kenny lowers his hood, then pushes his sleeves up so that he can show off that Stuart didn't hit or make any attempt to grab him.

"You had him worried sick, Kenny!" Karen scolds.

"I-It's my fault! I should have gotten their permission first. Now you're in trouble, and-" Butters is chewing the inside of his bottom lip, rubbing his knuckles together, and then Kenny is hugging him tightly.

"Whoa! No, dude. It's not your fault. My dad's always been like this. He'd get upset at his own farts."

  


Karen tries to explain their father's anger. "Yeah, he gets mad about anything and everything. He used to get mad at mom when she wouldn't have dinner made-"

"It's not like he ever got us anything for her to cook." Kenny grumbles. He tries not to get involved unless their mom actively goads their dad into fighting, and it results in them both throwing punches. Whenever Kevin did that, things got out of hand, and his parents would start to drag them into their fights.

Kenny never wanted to take either side. Karen never wanted them to fight, and Kevin just had dealt with it for too long, and left.

Once Kevin left, if Kenny noticed an argument starting soon enough, he'd take Karen to his room, and they'd play cards. Without anyone to jump in, the fights began turning into yelling matches. 

Nowadays, it's just the same arguments on repeat. If his mom or dad want him to take a side, and get Kenny involved, he usually points out that they're both being stupid. He wouldn't say that his parents get along, but when they do argue, his dad eventually leaves and gives everyone a chance to cool off.

Karen isn't going to ask why their dad had been so angry this time. He never gets mad at her for having friends over unannounced. Most of the time, it's over stupid little things that end up being only his own fault. 

  


"But dad just gets mad all the time. Yelling probably makes him feel tough." Kenny says.

"Yeah, and Kenny can yell louder-"

"Karen, it's not how loud you yell, it's _what_ you yell." Kenny says. "And he can't stay mad at me when I'm working more hours than him, and can take his luxuries away."

Butters has finally stilled. It helps that no one is yelling, and he doesn't have to worry for the safety of his friends. If this happens as often as these two are acting like it does, he doesn't want them staying here. He can't just tell Kenny to go back to Paris Hilton with him -as much as he's sure she'd love him- and leave Karen here. They'd be too far from Mrs. McCormick, too. Butters has to think of some way to help without insulting Kenny's pride or breaking up this family too much.


	13. Titties or Not!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Didn't edit this chapter much, so I'll go back and touch it up later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Guess I kind of hit a writer's block. I have this fic outlined, but was struggling with this transitional chapter. I hope ya'll don't mind! 
> 
> Thanks again and always for reading, commenting, or leaving kudos!

  


"Leo, you okay?" Butters has been wearing a concerning expression for a few minutes since Kenny and Karen tried to reassure him.

"Huh...?" Finally, he blinks that worried look away, then wrings his hands gently. 

So, clearly whatever is bothering him hasn't gone away. Though his expression is as cheerful as ever, Butters's hands are a dead giveaway. Kenny wishes he'd stop fretting over something that's out of his control. His dad's a dick, and that's that. 

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Ken. It's just... I couldn't help wonderin' if he was upset because you had me over, or 'cause you're gay too... hangin' around me and all." Butters wouldn't say homophobia is common in the gated community he and Paris Hilton live in. People are actually pretty accepting of him, but if Stuart McCormick is as white-trash as he seems, he wouldn't be surprised if the root of his anger is some fear in Butters turning his son gay. As if his sexuality were some kind of contagious illness or something. It's very much not a problem, and Butters is happy to wear it as a badge of honor. He just wishes that Kenny wouldn't get into trouble.

Kenny can't help but chuckle softly where he sits beside him on the bed, the tone of his reaction not condescending, but affectionate.

Karen frowns at her brother, because obviously their guest is still very concerned. Laughing at him won't make him feel better, no matter how much he's smiling and pretending that nothing is bothering him. Kenny can just be so thoughtless sometimes that Karen feels the need to step back into the conversation. "Butters, it really doesn't have anything to do with you. You don't need to apologize."

"Yeah," The poor boy says as he leans his head on Butter's shoulder, "I'm not gay anyways, and if I were, dad wouldn't exactly be surprised." He's had all sorts of people over, and if his dad cared, he just ignored or distracted him. Stuart McCormick is pretty easy to distract if you come home with seemingly free beer. It doesn't matter if Kenny puts on a dress, or if he brings a hot babe over. His parents just look at him from the wrong angle regardless.

  


Butters watches as Karen moves over to Kenny's dresser at the end of the bed and starts to tidy up around the empty aquarium that he'd noticed last night. He assumes that she's doing this because he's spending time in this room, or maybe she's always sort of picking up after her brother, who's probably a little bit of a slob. His room doesn't relay that, but then, there's not much for him to leave about to make it seem like a sloppy space.

He turns his attention back to the room's owner, his turquoise eyes sliding over the swimsuit model poster before landing on warm honey brown ones. "Well... no offense or anything, Kenny. But I always assumed you only liked girls." Kenny smiles kindly at him to mean that no offense is taken. "When did that change?"

"Hmm... it wasn't anything sudden and new, just a slow process really," Kenny says and looks up past Butters, lips pouting slightly. "I guess I noticed that guys were an option after Tweek and Craig got together. That kind of sparked some topic in our group about yaoi, so then I started to look that stuff up, and then... oh, you know how the internet is. It was like a google deep-dive, but with porn and Japanese culture. I dressed as a girl for a while, since that was fun to do, and most of our friends are guys anyways. Cartman didn't really like playing with girls, so I stood in as one a couple times.

I didn't really start looking up anything about my sexuality until I got older. Before I knew it, South Park was pretty P.C., and I learned about all the other options in my dating pool. It's not like I'd ever really been shy about dating or anything." He shrugs, bumping Butters's arm with his shoulder.

"Guys, girls, and neither, or any and everything a person could be in between," Kenny smiles, seeming happy to consider the possibilities that opened up to him when he stopped keeping his focus narrowed on tits. "If I like someone, making them feel good and having a good time with them becomes the most important thing. Especially as a guy going through puberty. Feeling good was pretty much the top priority. It's just most of the time, I get girls," He winks and flashes Butters a cheeky grin.

Butters doesn't know why he feels a little disheartened at that last comment. Probably because he's not a girl. He looks over at the swimsuit model poster and looks the woman over. She's got much bigger breasts than Paris. Butters has none. She's got a curvy figure, which he doesn't. She's got a lot of things he doesn't, but... the poster is old. Kenny probably just never took it down. He needs to stop comparing himself to a beautiful woman who he doesn't recognize. He's Butters! Yep!

And he's going to make Kenny fall for him right back. Titties or not!

  


"I think I'm the only pansexual person in all of South Park." Kenny says.

"Oh." Okay, so then maybe he's just not met many other people as open and willing as girls. Butters actually feels a little reassured that he hasn't much competition, then. "So... have you ever been with a guy?"

Kenny nods and his grin turns a bit lecherous. "Not many gay guys in South Park, but I found some guys to experiment with in high school. It's not like I was hitting up grindr or anything, since I turned eighteen last year. No matter what that fatboy says, I'm not looking for any kind of daddy. I could tell you who around here can suck dick like a pro-"

Butters isn't exactly comfortable with the topic of Kenny's previous exploits, since he's apparently had many. He simply wanted a yes or a no answer to his question, and doesn't want any details of past relationships. It's a bit hypocritical of him, he thinks... After all, Kenny saw him with two other guys the very first day of their reunion. He wonders how that made him feel, but Kenny still seems awfully determined to be nice to him, no matter how much of a hot mess he proved to be.

Hoping to tone out Kenny's regaling tales of past sexual experiences, he focuses on what Karen is doing. She doesn't seem to be listening to them, and is searching around the empty aquarium, pulling off a sock hanging halfway inside it, and dropping a pair of briefs to the floor.

  


"Karen, she's probably in the top drawer. It's warmer in there than in the tank." Kenny says, his attention having followed Butters's.

The brunette shakes her head in disappointment before reaching in to the partially opened drawer and digging around. She's soon pulling out what looks like a gray ball of fur. Butters was right. It is a rat. Unfortunately, it's not round in the fat, contented house-pet sort of way so much as the sleepy trying-to-keep-warm kind of way. Poor little thing. Butters felt sympathy for the siblings on either side of him, and now he feels some for the pet. They need something better. Kenny, and his little pet. Maybe Butters can find some place for them to rent, or maybe just for Kenny. He'll have to look into getting something with two, maybe three rooms so that they don't have to be apart. 

But he can't do the planning on his own. He's going to get Kenny someplace new to stay! Butters stands up suddenly, and decides to literally put his foot down to do something about their living situation.

"Kenny." His voice is loud and his expression is determined. "Well, this just about does it-!" He's got to let him know that this isn't a good place for him to spend the rest of his time in. The condition of his living isn't his business, but he's not going to stand by idly when he can do something to help a friend!

  


" _Everybawdayah~ Rock your bawdayah~ Everybawdayah Rock Your Body Right,_ " Backstreet Boys's song starts playing from Kenny's bedside table. At a glance, Kenny reads that 'Paris' is calling Butters's phone, so he picks it up and hands it off to its owner. " _Backstreets Back ALRIGHT!_ "

"Oh!" Butters smiles pleasantly at Kenny while accepting the phone. His smile only drops slightly as he reads the caller ID, then gets up to leave, "Excuse me. I've gotta take this." He steps out and Kenny can hear him politely and excitedly greet who he assumes is Paris Hilton. He's trying to eavesdrop without being obvious, but Karen interrupts.

"So... What are you going to do with him?"

"What?"

"Butters."

"I didn't ask who, Kare-bear. I asked what."

"What are you doing with him? Leading him on? Are you going to make a move and ask him out or what?" Karen knows her brother has been with a lot of people, but it's actually been a while since he brought someone back here. That, and he hasn't actually _dated_ anyone since he was in middle school. This is a pretty good chance for her brother to actually focus on something other than work and occasionally doting on her.

"Jesus! Karen! I haven't seen him in ten years, and we've only spent like... one day together!"

"I'm just saying," She snuggles the rat in her hands, petting its head with her fingers and holding it close to her neck. "This isn't your usual route, is it?" Something about the way Kenny's being careful implies that either he isn't interested in Butters at all, or is _very_ interested in him.

"My usual route is the fastest into someone else's pants."

"Ew. Not what I meant, Kenny." He doesn't seem disinterested.

"I'm not doing that to Butters." Ah, so he is _very_ interested. 

"Why not?"

  


Kenny frowns at his sister. Karen's being really annoying. Her words imply impatience and disapproval, but her tone is encouraging. Kenny wishes she'd be direct, or leave him be about this. "Butters is more than just a cute ass."

His sister looks like she regrets bringing this up. She doesn't want to hear about asses. She realizes that he's probably overthinking how he should make each move. Kenny does seem troubled about this, in his own way. This pace isn't like him. Usually he goes after what he wants suddenly and recklessly. Maybe this time, he's changing his approach so that he doesn't mess this up.

The pause has given him time to mull this over, and it doesn't look like Kenny's found any sort of favorable outcome, with the way he's fiddling with his hood's drawstrings. 

"He's way out of my league. Just like you said." Kenny isn't being a defeatist, but he has to admit that Karen was right. He pulls his hood up, needing the little bit of cover to think this through and handle the stress of planning out what his next move into gaining a relationship with Butters entails. He's not actually been in a real relationship for a long time, so what if he messes this all up... what exactly does Butters have to look forward to from him? 

"He likes you. I could see that just from you two being weird earlier."

"I can't offer him anything." Except possibly a good lay. Kenny doubts that's the way into Butters's heart, since that's his aim. Hearts aren't his usual targets. Paris Hilton has probably given him everything material he's ever wanted. What can Kenny possibly hope to bring him to properly woo him?

  


"You're over-thinking it, Kenny. If you like him and he likes you, you two should date."

"I can't afford to take him on a date."

"Just do what you do best. Be you. This whole worry-wart isn't you. What do you usually do to make people like you?" Karen shifts the rat around before making a new little place for it to sleep in Kenny's clothes. She places it back, then shuts the drawer slightly to keep the air in there warm.

"I just kind of hit on them. Sometimes with pick-up lines, but like I said, I'm not trying to get in Butters pants. Not... not right now, anyways."

"So hit on Butters. Stop thinking about this so much."

"He hit on me first. I'm not used to that."

"See! He likes you!"

"No, he just wanted to get into _my_ pants."

"Don't be upset just because he beat you at your own game. Maybe Butters has liked you for a while, hm?"

"He didn't beat me! This isn't some kind of game."

"Okay, okay... Fine. I get it. You want to be in a relationship with him?"

"Yeah. I don't want him to think I'm going to just be interested in him because of his money, or because I want to get laid."

"So ask him out. Confess that you have feelings for him."

"..." Kenny seems to be thinking about how he'll do that, pulls at his hood strings, wraps one about his finger, then looks up as Karen pats his shoulder.

"Don't think. Just act. He'll say yes no matter what." Karen can't believe her brother is so dense. She smiles at him. "And I'll help you plan out a date for him, okay?"

"Okay," Kenny returns her smile, feeling a little bit better. He drops the drawstring so his hood loosens, and watches his sister fix it, so it hangs over his head. Then she's combing some of his hair with her fingers, styling it a little and looking at him with her best encouraging expression. "I'll do it."

"As soon as he gets back." She says and moves to leave the room.

"Yeah. As soon as he gets back." Kenny nods.

"You'll ask him out?" Karen goads, tipping her chin down slightly and grinning.

"I'll sweep him off his fuckin' feet!"

Karen looks amused and a little uncertain at the enthusiasm, but her brother seems to be back to his usual bold self. "Okay..."

"I'll come onto him harder than anyone else has in his entire life!" Kenny gets onto his feet to face his sister, balls his fists up in clear determination, and gives her a grin so confident that she's clearly surprised.

"Woah- maybe don't do that to him-" Karen bursts into giggles, and the door next to her opens. She smiles at Butters and walks right out, shutting the door behind her to leave the two boys together. 

  


"Do what to me?" Butters asks as he walks in, catching Kenny off guard in his power-stance in the middle of the room.

The surprise fades from the shorter blonde's expression, and Kenny points at him, then smiles confidently. Butters can see he's determined, and it's equal parts amusing and dazzling. He puts a hand to his mouth to hide the little giggle that bubbles up. 

"I've decided that you're right, Leo! I'm not going to give up anymore! I'm going to be happy!"

Butters lowers his hand a little and blinks in surprise. "Well... you don't seem depressed or nothin'. I didn't mean-"

"We should go out!"

"Huh?!" He wasn't expecting that.

"You!" He's still pointing, then moves his hand to point at himself. "And Me. Together. We should date."

Butters giggles in obvious excitement, a blush lighting up his cheeks. "Really?" He brings his hands together at his chest, then swings his shoulders softly, "You're just assumin' I'll agree?" He grins, fluttering his eyelashes and trying to play coy. Clearly he agrees, though.

Kenny only seems to pause for a second at that before putting his hand out.

Butters stares at it. 

  


"Come here." Kenny seems serious, and Butters is enjoying this vibrancy to him, so isn't inclined to do anything other than what he's told.

He steps forward and accepts Kenny's left hand, smiling and curious until Kenny's grip tightens and he yanks him forward with too much force, only to catch him beneath his shoulders with his right hand. Butters feels his weight shift, and he's falling, letting out a fearful cry, squeezing his eyes shut and reaching out to grab Kenny as he's maneuvered into a sudden dip. Butters's arms lock around his neck, bunching up the orange hood and pulling it away from Kenny's head just enough so the fringe Karen had created neatly on his forehead springs up and back a little.

"Oh! Kenny!" The boy lets out a loud whine, body tense as he looks up, then turns his head to push his face against Kenny's shoulder. He can feel the other boy wrap his arm around him to place a hand firmly between his shoulder blades. "You scared me!" Butters nearly wails, but he feels better knowing he wasn't allowed to fall. It probably helps that Kenny's also chuckling softly while holding him so securely.

"I wanted to make you literally fall for me before I asked you out."

  


"Y-you mean it?"

"Yeah."

"But Kenny... you hardly know me."

"I want to get to." Kenny says without missing a beat. He's still looking immeasurably confident.

"Oh Kenny..." Butters nibbles a little at the inside of his bottom lip. "I don't know." He says softly with very real doubt.

At first the hesitation was coming across as coyness, but now Kenny's starting to feel real concern. "Please."

"Let me. It's been too long, and we've barely had a day. Let me take you on a date." Well, there goes his usual flirtatious confidence. He feels desperation poking holes in him. "Leo, let me spend time with you. It's really the only thing I have a lot of that I can give, and I'd give you more if I could. Please go out with me."

"Ken..." Butters's grip eases up, and he slides one hand away to reach up and caress Kenny's cheek. "I'd be happy to go out with you. You don't hafta do anything for me."

"How about dinner?"

"Oh? Um... Tonight?" Now Butters seems even more troubled.

"Well... yeah. It's my last day off." Kenny says with a smile. He feels better now, knowing that his affection isn't being rejected. He just wants a decent chance to treat Butters well, and not just as some guy he used to be friends with, who he's kissed. Maybe he should kiss him again. They are kind of in the perfect position for it. He looks at Butter's mouth as the boy in his arms pets the side of his face, then reaches up to comb fingers through his hair.

"I would love to, but I can't tonight." Butters says softly as his fingers curl and he scratches and works little circles against Kenny's scalp with his fingertips. It's enough to make Kenny shiver and his eyelids lower, but not enough to distract him from what Butters has said.

"What?" Is this more teasing? Kenny can't tell. "Tomorrow, then. I can call out." There! Problem solved. Now they can kiss, and spend today getting a little more physically closer, building up the desire between them so that their date leads to an explosive, memorable night.

  


"Kenny, I have to go back to LA. Paris broke off her engagement, and she needs me to come home." Butters shifts so he can stand fully, since this isn't the kind of conversation he wants to have while being held in a dipped posture.

"B-But..." Kenny straightens up, setting Butters on his feet and taking his hands in his own. "Not right now, right?"

"Lola's on her way here now to pick me up."

"But Leo!"

"I'm sorry Kenny. I still want to date you! It's just going to be a long distance relationship."

"Could I come with you?"

"No, I mean I want you to. It's just that when Paris gets upset like this..." Butters can't make eye contact with Kenny, not when his expression makes Butters's chest hurt. His eyes express too much desperation when they'd been so bright and cheery a few minutes ago. "I-It's hard to console her. She gets drunk and does stupid things, like that one time she drank too much and put herself in jail. I've got to make sure she stays safe."

"You can just put me in the trunk of Lola's car. I can stay in a hotel, and then we can spend time together."

Butters shakes his head. "I'm not going to put you in any trunk. Just stay here while I sort this out, then I'll be back. She doesn't stay upset for very long."

Kenny's still looking pleadingly at him, the fingers on his right hand wrapped around his hood's drawstrings, scratching at the knot.

Butters looks up at that expression, at the pout on Kenny's lips and the way he's messing with his hood. "Aw, Kenny... Don't look at me like that." 

  


"Let me give you something," Kenny says once he realizes that his pouty look isn't convincing Butters very much. He turns to his bedside table and pulls open the shallow drawer of it. 

"Kenny, I already have your number in my phone."

"No. Here. Uhm... okay so it's too small, probably." Kenny holds out his hand, and resting in the middle is a ring.

"Oh no! Oh geez! Kenny, I'm real flattered, but I-"

"It's a purity ring."

"A purity ring?" Butters takes it and slips it onto his right ring finger, but it won't budge after the first knuckle. It is definitely too small. But it's cute, like one of those midi rings. "What's a purity ring?" Butters asks, admiring the simple metal band.

Kenny sighs, "When you wear a purity ring, it means that you're going to be pure and not have sex until you're married. But considering neither of us are virgins, well... I don't think that sentiment counts for us very much."

"So then, we only have sex with each other?" Butters asks. He can't think of why Kenny would give it to him for any other reason than that.

"So it's a monogamy ring." Kenny nods.

That name sounds kind of dumb, and so Butters snorts a laugh before suggesting, "How about a promise ring?"

"Yeah. Okay, I think I like that better."

"Here. Wear one of mine. That way we can be committed to each other." Butters slips off one of the rings he's been wearing. It's not very flashy, and it'll at least fit Kenny.

"Aw and here I thought you were gonna propose to me or something, Kenny," Butters says as he hands the ring over and watches Kenny slip it right onto his right hand ring finger.

"Maybe some other time, but we haven't even had a date yet!" Kenny doesn't seem as sad, but he definitely appears frustrated about the missed time he'd assumed he'd have.


	14. Hold your Horses, Mister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **NSFW! SMUT.**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> If you're not interested in reading a detailed blowjob, you can skip this chapter. If you are, well... I hope you like this? This chapter isn't super relevant to the plot, but I figured if I have a tag that says "Fluff and Smut" I might as well put smut in here. There will be more much later, but I'll always try to warn and make it avoidable if I can c:
> 
> Thanks for reading/commenting/kudoing!

  


Butters doesn't blame Kenny for being so upset. He'd thought they'd have another day together, and what with him dying yesterday and all, that took up a lot of their time. He really does want to stay with Kenny, but he's got to be a good friend, and he's always been there when Paris needed him.

It's not that the breaking off of the engagement is sudden, and Paris Hilton is devastated. She's gotten more upset over her animals than any breakups she's been through. Paris had told him that they just kept putting it off, and she wants time to focus on her work and herself instead of Chris. She felt bad for sending Butters out to promote something by himself, and he'd assured her that he'd done well. She even seemed to cheer up when he told her he had a new fragrance in mind, and mentioned Kenny.

Honestly, judging by how eager she was, Butters is pretty sure she wouldn't be too upset if he told her he wants to stay in South Park a little longer.

Or maybe being in a new relationship while she's alone will just make her feel _more_ alone. That just makes him worry more.

He doesn't want to upset anyone else. Butters already feels guilty enough by the way Kenny is reacting. Still, maybe this time apart where they're committed to each other will give him the opportunity to plan out what they can do for each other. It will allow Kenny time to plan out an actual date for when he comes back, and Butters can figure out how he can support him without having to drag him to Los Angeles.

He's been looking down, the guilt really sinking in. It's not like he couldn't tell Paris she'll have to wait ~~but she is spoiled~~. If he did that, he's worried that the sudden change will make everything pile up and be more of a mess later. Butters looks up cautiously, and there's something in Kenny's eyes that's burning like anger, or determination. To try to ease him, Butters rubs his thumbs over the backs of Kenny's hands. His grip is warm but not too firm. "We can spend time together when I come back. I promise. As much time as you want, and we can do anything you want."

  


Kenny narrows his eyes "You're going to be in debt."

"What?"

"A kiss for every morning and night." Kenny looks serious. "That's the fee. Every morning and night that you're gone, that's what you owe me when you get back."

Butters blinks his surprise, then smiles in relief. "Can I pay in advance? I'll happily pay a deposit in kisses."

"It's a pretty hefty fee. Dunno if kisses will cover it as an initial deposit." Kenny seems pretty stubborn, but he's not kidding that he expects Butters to make up for their lost time once they get back together.

"Well, Lola's on her way to come get me now, but she's not been staying in South Park. We still have some time. I'm going to do my best to lessen the debt. Go ahead and lock the door, and let's see what we can get up to until she gets here."

  


Kenny does as Butters tells him -he doesn't have to be told twice- and once he's turning around, he can feel Butters has moved closer. The taller blonde isn't exactly towering over him, but he's at just the right height to bring his mouth right to Kenny's ear. 

He shivers, still surprised by the contact and wondering how Butters ever figured out that that was a weak spot of his. There are bumps jumping along his arms and thighs, and he lets out a sharp exhale just as Butters kisses the soft skin between his ear and jaw. The affection isn't even actual kisses, so much as Butters dragging his lips, occasionally puckering them against his neck in a downward trail. Kenny feels like he's melting, like he'll just slump against the door until he feels hands on his shoulders.

"Leo..." Kenny sighs as he's turned around, his back pushed to the door. It knocks softly on its hinges, the lock holding it closed as his hands fall to his sides. 

"Yeah, Ken?" Butters looks up from where he'd brought his trail of his kisses to the front of Kenny's neck. He's even paying special attention beneath his jaw, not quite leaving marks, but gently nipping, experimenting with the pressure and nature of the kisses he's leaving all over the tender skin.

"I-" The poor boy looks like he can't find his words. Instead, he reaches out a hand between them and runs it down Butters's chest . "I'm glad I got to see you again." The softness in his tone gives Butters pause. Kenny makes it sound like he's never going to see him again.

"Well gee, Ken! I'll facetime with you every day that I'm gone, okay? Then you won't be able to miss me! I'll send you a new phone and everything." He pecks at Kenny's cheek. "And I'll send you dirty pictures too, if you want..."

"Oh... _Yes_. Yes, I want." Kenny says with a grin. "Only of you, though, okay? I don't want to look at any other guy's dick."

Butters blushes and nods eagerly. "Yeah! Why, I'm sure I can send you some really good stuff! You've kind of already seen mine, though... haven't you?"

  


Kenny feels excited by the shy expression Butters is wearing. "Yeah. You've got a cute dick, Leo. Just cause I've seen it once doesn't mean I don't want to look at it again. You don't have to start out with dick pics, though. I'd rather see your pretty face every day." He cups Butters's face and plants a soft kiss to his lips, then looks into his eyes. They're both bright and unmarred, everything about him screams polished perfection. He could get lost in those pretty blues.

"You've got a pretty face too, Kenny." He smiles bashfully and turns his head, kissing at one of the hands that had been on his cheek. "Now... Uh, I'm not worried about you seeing me or nothin'. Are you okay if I look at you?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Kenny asks.

"Well, you keep hidin' from me." Butters says and pushes Kenny's hood down. "And you didn't seem to want me touchin' you that one time." 

"Oh!" Kenny pushes Butters back gently, then pulls off his hoodie entirely. "I guess it's just habit. You know," He unfastens his jeans, "I just didn't want you to think that I only wanted to be around you just so we could have sex."

"Gee, Kenny. I wanted to have sex, cause... well, I was only thinking of myself."

Kenny inhales deeply, then sighs before reaching forward to put a hand on Butters's shoulder. "Well, considering what we both want, what should we do?"

  


"I think I'm going to try and kiss every inch of you."

"Fine. Then I'm not going to hide a damn thing." Kenny moves over to his bed and pulls his shirt off, leaving himself topless with his jeans hanging open. One hand moves to the fly of his pants, and Butters walks over and puts his hand over it.

"Now hold your horses, Mister. I'll get there in a minute." Butters says as he moves onto the bed and over Kenny's lap.

"Pfft! _Mister_?!" Kenny laughs and reaches up to Butters's arms, running his hands along them and then up to his sleeves, where he tugs to bring him closer. 

"Yeah!" Butters says with a grin and decides to take off his own shirt before lowering himself down and kissing Kenny right on the lips.

Kenny is still chuckling as they kiss, but it's easing up as his attention shifts. He'd rather be kissing right now, anyways. Butters tastes sweet, he realizes as he runs his tongue between his lips, earning a moan from the boy on top of him. They're almost the same size, but what Butters has on him in height, he lacks in weight. He's easy to hold onto, and Kenny's hands slide to his hips, pushing him to make sure that they're making full contact and Butters isn't holding himself back.

  


Butters moans again, enjoying the way Kenny is taking charge in one regard, but letting him have the reigns with the kissing. It's great, too. Kenny kisses like no one Butters has ever been with. There's no aroused impatience, nothing demanding so much as an obvious hunger. Kenny's licking at him, sucking on his tongue, and Butters nips at his lips before pulling back and moving out of the reclined boy's grasp. It earns a whine, but with the pressure of his palm down and firm between Kenny's legs, that whine dissolves into a grunted moan.

"Aw Kenny, I want to hear you," He says with an assuring smile while working his hand over Kenny's dick. The boy beneath him is very expressive, brows furrowed but eyes unfocused at him, lips parted and shining from the kissing.

"M'not holding back," Kenny groans, eyes narrowing and dark, no longer honey brown so much as a burnt umber. "S'good..."

"Oh... Well I'm hardly doin' anything," Butters says teasingly as he continues to rub his palm down, pressing with too much weight, then easing off and twisting his wrist to feel out the curve of Kenny's length. It's really difficult to do through jeans, so he's stopping to tug those down the other boy's thighs, moving his own weight to Kenny's shins.

To help when Butters is clearly trying to pull off his pants, he raises his hips, but does little more than watch him work. Butters's soft hands find purchase in the material at his thighs, then tugs down so the material gathers at his knees. Kenny can't hide how aroused he is, as the bulge in his white underwear is pretty obvious. He gulps, watching for an approving reaction, but Butters is keeping his face down. Maybe he's going to make a comment when he opens his mouth, but instead, Butters is leaning forward and putting his lips right onto his barely concealed length _through_ the fabric. " _Fff... mmm_ "

Butters looks up with his eyebrows raised, smiling around the curve of his length, and then licking his lips as he pulls off. He's still pretty close, though, enough that Kenny can feel the chill of his breath against the moisture his mouth has left behind. 

"Gee... it's like a present," Butters says and runs his finger over the swelling member, stopping at the tip, and prodding, rubbing, and admiring.

Kenny wants to yell at him to get on with it already. He's eager, and not a patient soul, no matter how much he cares about Butters. Yeah, he wanted a reaction to seeing his dick earlier, but right now, Kenny can only think about how Butters is teasing him, how soft his lips were, and how he wants to feel them without anything in the way. He reaches out and takes the wrist of that hand that's teasing him, and Butters removes his hand entirely, getting the wrong message. _No! Fuck, don't stop!_ Kenny lets out a wanting, frustrated groan.

Butters just moves his hand about, slides it, then takes Kenny's wrist to pin his hand down. "Now, now, Ken. I know what I'm doing. Don't you worry about any little thing, okay?"

" _Leo come on_..." Kenny pants and tries to tug his wrist back. Butters isn't letting up, though. He seems pretty determined to keep control of this situation.

  


"The best part about presents is unwrapping them. Now just keep your hands to yourself, okay mister?" Butters smiles.

"Stop calling me that, Butters," he sighs, relenting.

"You can't tell me what to do." Butters says and slides his hand back to Kenny's dick. He wraps his fingers around him to the best of his ability, and strokes. "I can call you whatever I want."

"Aw- f.... fuck _yes_ you can," Kenny says. Screw it. Butters can call him 'Nancy' and fuck him raw, and he's pretty sure he wouldn't care. "Just... please..." He jerks his hips into that rubbing palm.

"Woah~" Butters smiles and licks his lips a little. "Such nice manners!" He reaches his fingers beneath the waistband of Kenny's underwear, and pulls down far enough so that it can settle just below his balls, showing off everything his hand had been rubbing at and more. "Mmnnn why _Kenny_ , that's the nicest package I've ever seen." And he means it. Kenny has a nice dick, just the right thickness, a little over the average length on most guys he's seen, and with a little curve to it. Oh, he's sure Kenny knows how to use _that_ to his advantage. Butters strokes over it, grip gentle, fingertips almost massaging to feel out how firm he is, wondering if this is as hard as Kenny's impatience implied, or if he can work him up even more.

Kenny's gotten compliments on his dick before, but not quite like this. He blushes a little, but doesn't exactly feel shy when Butters wraps his hand around him and continues where he'd left off. The full contact of skin on skin leaves him shuddering. He wants to thank him, because damn if the loose grip isn't simultaneously a tease and a relief all at once. "O-Only the best for you, Buttercup."

That gives Butters some pause, and when he looks up, Kenny's smirking at him. Well, that's a cute nickname, so he'll give him a little reward. "Oh Mister, you sure know how to treat a guy, don't ya?" His fingers wrap more firmly around him, but still keep the slow stroking pace. Judging by the way Kenny's eyes shut, and his mouth falls open a little more, this isn't too bad.

"Fuck, ha-have your way with me," Kenny drops his head back. It won't do him much good to try and take control of this situation, and he definitely doesn't want to. He can feel Butters reach a hand up to his chest, curl his fingers, then scratch down and over one of his nipples. That doesn't earn as big a reaction as Butters was expecting, judging by the way he hums thoughtfully.

"You got it." Butters says, and before Kenny can brace himself, he feels that hand leave, only to be replaced by warmth, and slick moisture. When he opens his eyes and glances down, Butters is licking over him, mouth completely open and allowing his spit to gloss down where he's yet to reach with his tongue.

"Nnh... n-need me to... oh _fuck_... need me to keep my hips down?" Kenny can't help but twitch his hips when Butters starts to turn his licks into sucks. He's not reaching as far down as he'd like, but he's not so impatient that he'll start trying to hump Butters's mouth.

"Mmnm," Butters responds and pulls his mouth off to trail his puckered lips in kisses along the underside of Kenny's dick. He's not used to anyone ever paying _this much_ attention. It's usually pretty quick, but this feels like foreplay. "No. Just don't grab my hair, okay?"

"Got it," Kenny agrees, bunching up the blanket on his bed with his hands before Butters goes back to sliding his mouth against, then around him. He closes his eyes, tipping his head back once more, and just basking in the sensation. Blowjobs are the best, hands down, and Butters feels like an expert. The pace is purposefully slow, like he wants Kenny to savor every sensation to the fullest, and he probably could, never wanting this to end.

But that all kind of changes when Butters's hand slides down and cups his balls. It's enough to make Kenny's body jerk and then the boy between his legs moves his head faster. The pressure of Butters' grip isn't too tight, and he's massaging at his sack, slurping on his dick, and Kenny can feel his orgasm approaching at an alarming rate. "Leo... ah-" Oh god, come on words, come on. Kenny can hardly catch his breath, his toes curling as he struggles with the mere act of politely warning the boy sliding his mouth along his dick. "C-Cumming-!" He manages to cry out.

It's just enough time for Butters to pull off with a wet pop, and hold his mouth open to catch the jizz as it shoots out. He moans lewdly while doing so, and when Kenny manages to open his eyes, he catches Butters looking up at him with the hungry approval of a porn star.

" _Fuck_." Kenny praises, wiping his brow with the back of a forearm. His phone buzzes on the bedside table, and he glances over at it while tucking away his genitals. Butters gets up and off of the bed, taking out his own phone and looking over at Kenny with an apologetic expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've written smut. Hope it wasn't obvious.


	15. Pics or it didn't Happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha another delayed chapter! It feels short, but I like it.
> 
> As always, thanks for the kudo/comment/hit on this fic! It means a bunch to me that anyone would read my first fanfic!

"I'm sorry, Ken," Butters says as he moves over to give Kenny a gentle, almost timid kiss on the cheek. He's cautious about Kenny being adverse to kissing his mouth after a blowjob, so the peck is as swift as he can manage. 

Both boys obviously want to spend more time together, and Kenny personally doesn't even think about where Butters's mouth just was. It doesn't _really_ matter. Having the display of affection be something so slight makes the disappointment in his gut heavier. It feels like Butters is scared to get too close when he was _just_ intimately close. Kenny pouts and turns his head away, to think up his next course of action. Rather than spending any more time nursing his slightly soured mood, he'll just pursue a better kiss, even if he has to steal it. He gets up and adjusts his clothing, pocketing his phone. 

Kyle's text to him about Cartman getting up to some manner of trouble -which isn't really a surprise- can wait. Instead, he follows Butters to the front door, where he's paused to talk to Karen. 

He watches as Butters hugs his sister, then follows him outside. Karen pats his back before she moves towards her room, probably inclined to give them more time together, seeing as it will be their last for a while until Paris has moved on with her broken off engagement.

There's Lola's black sedan, pulled up in a sloppy park job. Who could park correctly when there is no driveway? The entire McCormick house feels like it's been built on an empty lot. Butters clearly hesitates to cross the threshold, then turns to his new boyfriend to give him a proper farewell.

He's cut off as Kenny's lips seal over his own. The sudden intensity of the kiss is enough to make Butters's mind go blank. He's not being dipped, but his knees sure do buckle beneath him like he has. It feels like he's sort of become boneless, and the only thing helping him keep together are Kenny's strong arms wrapped about him securely. Butters kisses back with as much intensity as he can muster, but Kenny's so much more thorough, enough that he can't help but just enjoy the attention and hope he's giving as good as he gets. It's dizzying, and he can't focus on anything else. But as soon as he's allowing himself to give into the kiss entirely, Kenny's chuckling against his lips and pulling his mouth back.

When Butters blinks him back into focus, Kenny's just staring at him. It's probably because Butters is wearing the most vacant, satisfied expression. "I'm going to text you every minute."

It's not a feeling he's used to. It kind of hurts to know he's going to make Kenny stay in South Park. He reaches up to caress the side of his face, taking in every detail he can to seal this moment away. Kenny's nose wrinkles a little when he smiles at him, and his eyes narrow too. It's a genuine smile, not a smirk, and there's promise in it. Butters could get just as lost in that expression as he almost did to the kiss. "You better, Mister."

  


Kenny scoffs at the nickname and lets Butters turn towards the sedan.

The platinum blonde can't even take a step forward before he feels the other boy make a grope for his butt. He has to turn and swat at his hand, laughing, "Hey!"

"Walk to the car slower, Leo! I'm liking the view!" Kenny grins, eyes shining with mirth.

Butters giggles as he walks around the car, shaking his head at the other boy as Lola gets out to open the door to the back seat for him. She says something to him that Kenny can't hear, then looks at him. He's sure he's not a very good picture image, framed by the doorway of the decrepit house, but he leans against it despite that and gives her a quick tip up of his chin in greeting.

  


" _Yeeeah_ ," Butters sighs as he takes a minute to admire Kenny standing there, "that's my guy."

Lola shakes her head, but smiles and gives Kenny a wave while Butters's phone goes off. He pulls it out to find a message Kenny has _just_ sent him, reading 'I miss you'. He giggles and looks up from his iphone to see Kenny blow him a kiss. Before Butters can move to actually get in the car, a thick-fingered hand reaches out and firmly grabs his wrist.

"Okay! We get it! You're butt pirates for each other. Now get in, Butters!"

Cartman looks up from his seat in the back of the car, wearing an enormously annoyed expression as Butters moves to get in, and waves over the roof before Lola's shutting the door. Butters ignores the remarks Cartman makes about him being gay, and about how Kenny is annoying when he's like this. That's not good, Butters thinks. As his friend, Cartman should be happy that Kenny is happy. He buckles his seat belt, then looks over and realizes that Cartman hasn't done the same. "Buckle up, Eric. Lola won't go anywhere unless she's sure we're safe."

The fat young man narrows his eyes at Butters, then catches Lola's eyes glaring at him through the rear-view mirror. He grumbles and buckles up, annoyed even more as Butters sends a satisfied smile his way. There's obvious tension inside the car, but Butters is great at ignoring it, since he's busy typing up a new text to Kenny. He's debating whether he should say he loves Kenny, or just send him a string of heart emojis. Lola picked Eric up, like Butters had asked in the quick text he'd sent her earlier after getting off the phone with Paris.

She didn't really need him to go back to California, despite Butters's obvious worry upon hearing of her broken engagement. Paris had wanted more details about Kenny, had assured him that she had broken off the engagement so she could spend more time on herself. Yeah, she used to be reckless when she was younger, but she's got more of her business to focus on, and she wants Butters to be able to have some freedom. She's going to give them as much time as they need before going to South Park herself to see what Butters has done, and meet up with Kenny. Then, it will just seem like a donation from her, and that she's bringing Butters back, when he's spent all this time setting up a surprise.

They're going to work together to set up a place for Kenny and Karen, and hopefully, Butters too. Cartman was roped in to help Butters and Lola move furniture and find an affordable -but far from cheap- apartment. He'd agreed as soon as he heard about how much money would be involved. That, and he probably figured that he'd get something from Butters by getting back into his good graces.

  


"Now, I think... Butters. Now's as good a time as any," Cartman drawls, as though he has some business deal he's structured.

"Uh- a good as time as any for what?" Butters asks as he sets his phone down, having sent the hearts.

"Well, you've enlisted my help to keep this a secret, _and_ if you want to keep it that way, I expect you're going to pay me." Cartman states, then pokes a fat finger against Butters's chest. "Or maybe living in California has taught you how to jew people out of their money!"

Bewildered, Butters reaches and moves Cartman's hand away from his chest. "Well gee, Eric. I thought you said you would help since you're such a good friend and all." He'd fallen for that, but he also isn't as dumb as he used to be. Butters fully expects Eric to try and seize control of all of this and make him look like an idiot. Unfortunately for Cartman, Butters has figured out -and never actually forgot- that Cartman is always working for himself.

"..." Oh shit, he had said that to him. "Well." Cartman clears his throat. "Of course, but if I'm going to spend a lot of my time helping you, it's not just for free."

Butters hadn't expected him to help for free, but he's not giving him too hefty a payment. They aren't setting up anything with money until this is all successful. Once Kenny has moved into his new place and is pleasantly surprised to find his boyfriend not going back to California, then Butters will write a check.

"After all," Cartman sniffs, "This is more than just me keeping your secret, we've got to make it seem like you've really left. We've got to hide you. That's gonna take a lot more work."

"Well... I guess. But I hope it won't take too much time. I want to see Kenny soon again." The sooner all the payments are settled for the place, and they get it furnished, the better. This is probably going to take a few days at least.

"Butters. If we do a good enough job, you can see him as soon as tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Butters gasps. "But he'll notice me for sure!"

  


...

  


After not ever responding to Kyle's text, and instead spamming Butters with walls of flirty messages, the texts slowed down to a stop, and Kenny was eventually interrupted by a phone call from Kyle. 

Whoops. Kyle was annoyed, but understanding and invited Kenny to some kind of meet-up at the local McDonald's. Kenny's a bit hungry, and Kyle's taking this whole Cartman issue pretty seriously. If it means Kenny can get some food, and not spend time feeling lonely, then he's game.

"Dude, I'm telling you, Cartman's up to something." Kyle says.

"Yeah, when isn't he up to something?" Kenny asks through the muffle of his hood. He takes a Mcnugget off of Stan's tray sans the dipping sauce.

"Is Butters still with you?"

Kenny lets out an aggravated sigh and eats another fry. "No, he had to go back to L.A. because Paris Hilton is going through some shit."

Stan can see how bummed Kenny is about that, and so offers his sympathy. "That's lame."

"No, that's a good thing." Kyle cuts in.

That earns him a glare from Kenny, because of course Kyle doesn't consider the fact that this is a _real_ relationship, and that he's not been with anyone like this in a good long while. Why can't he just be supportive?

Kyle jumps to the defensive, "If he's not around, then whatever Cartman's planning won't have anything to do with him!"

"Cartman _is_ a manipulative prick."

Kenny sighs. He can only agree with both of them. It really doesn't matter whatever Cartman is getting into. This is just going to get him into some kind of accident or another. He'll die, come back, life will go on, but maybe some time will skip and Butters will come back soon. It's not like he's going to kill himself in the hopes of getting to see Butters sooner rather than later. He's got work to do, and if he focuses in on that, then the date he can have with his boyfriend will be the best. For now, whatever is going on with Cartman can just be some kind of distraction, a means of spending his time until then. It's not like he's going to be setting anything on fire, or sniffing paint out of boredom. How bad can this be? Fine, Kenny bites, "What's he up to?"

"Fatass wouldn't say what he's been up to, but he said he'd be making a lot of money, and that he's getting a girlfriend."

"Cartman's good at making money." Stan points out. "He's not good at keeping it, but dude... I can't really see him having a girlfriend."

"He probably made that part up. Who just 'gets' a girlfriend? Cartman's probably going to get the money to impress her or whatever, then end up broke and alone." Kenny says and nods before finishing off his own food.

"Alright, I'll get him to send me pictures." Kyle says while he starts typing away on his phone.

"Mmhm. Pics, or it didn't happen." Stan agrees.


	16. stop talking about Clyde

It's a few days later, and Kenny's no longer got much in terms of free time to text Butters every minute like he'd promised. Still, he's going to do his best to reach out to him whenever possible. 

For instance, he knows he should be working, but since receiving his new phone in the mail from Butters, with paperwork detailing the unlimited _everything_ as part of the plan, he's been living on it. Now he understands why all of his friends are usually on their phones, and why they left him out of so much during their later high school years. He's got an instagram now, and facebook, and all the things he used to do on his crappy laptop and crappy old throw-away phone. Now, he gets updates! That makes a whole world of difference now that he has a boyfriend! Notifications pop up when he posts pictures and tweets. Kenny has never felt so blessed.

He comments to most posts and pictures that Butters uploads, but the frequency is starting to dwindle. Kenny supposes Butters is finally settling back into a routine that didn't include him. It's not like he's being ignored or avoided, since he gets responses. It's just clear that there are other things Butters is spending his time on. Maybe he should take a page out of his book and use this time to stock some shelves. 

Dollar shampoo bottles can only hold his interest for so long. Kenny's tidying up the shelves and breaking down a box he'd quickly emptied while reflecting on his plans for later in the evening. Kyle and Stan hang out a bunch and only invite him every so often. A lot of their free time is spent doing things that require money. They go out to eat, out to shop, out to watch movies, and Kenny's spending so much time making money to try to move out and support himself when he finally does that he's never going to have the time to hang out with them. It's a real shame, too. 

What with Stan's dad living out of the way, out on Tegridy Farms, Kenny can't hang out with him when Kyle is otherwise occupied even when he's got a rare day off. Kyle doesn't invite him to do much, but Kenny knows that's probably because he's never stopped thinking Kenny doesn't apply himself. He knows that Kyle talks shit about him wasting his life away, as if Kenny's clueless to the cycle he's stuck in. He's not some flake, just because he can't afford the luxuries Stan and Kyle take for granted.

Stan's more of a party animal, and a kind of quality-time lover. He wants people around to experience with him. Kyle's interested in who he surrounds himself with, and supervising, if not completely directing an experience. Kenny's on the same kind of wavelength as Stan, but he's more keen on being an observer. Cartman's just... a fucking wild card. 

Maybe Cartman can share the "fun" of... whatever he's been doing?

  
Cartman may be a self-interested asshole, but Kenny knows that he doesn't like to exclude those less-fortunate than himself. He's really big into gloating. Kenny would rather be included and lorded-over while entertained than feeling like some kind of third-wheel with Stan and Kyle.

`Wanna hang out later?`

`  
Who the fuk is this?`

`  
Kenny`

`  
Kinny! Did you steal a phone?`

God dammit, of course he spells his name as badly as he says it. Kenny groans and then glances about. No one's around. He moves into the next aisle before typing his response. 

`  
Oh, you know me. I've got my ways`

`So what are you doing later?`

`  
Was thinking about a party at Tokens`

`  
When?`

 

No response. Time for a group chat to get the ball actually rolling.

 

Kenny: `Party at Token's tonight?`

Kyle: `Dude, Token's not throwing a party tonight!`

Cartman: `O right hang on`

Stan: `sure i can bring some stuff`

Cartman: `k, he is now. u guys better go! `

Kyle: `God dammit, fatass.`

Cartman: `I'm bringing my new girlfriend~`

Kyle: `Liar`

Stan: `Oh yeah, what's her name?`

Kenny: `Does she have big tits?`

Cartman: `I'll introduce her there`

 

Kenny has to pocket his phone when some customers get to the counter. He cashes them out quickly, then heads back to the stock room to try and speed up his shift further. It works well once another employee comes in to man the register, and when he's finally heading to Tweek Bros, he can't help but mention the gossip to Tweek.

"Augh-! Why should I care?!" He exclaims louder than he means while passing off a cappuccino to a smiling, middle-aged woman.

"Because the last time Cartman had a girlfriend was when we were like... ten?"

"I feel sorry for her!"

"Okay, so maybe you can convince her to dump Cartman?"

"Are you kidding, man?! He'll get mad at me and then I'll get murdered or something!"

"Nah. You can approach her with the whole gay-guy is a woman's best friend thing."

"You- nh- you're gay too!"

"Dude, I'm pan." He's not taking offense to that assumption, considering all he'd been talking about for a few days was Butters. It's understandable that Tweek would get that impression. At least if he informs him, then it won't seem like women were never just some phase he went through when he was younger.

Tweek just looks him up and down, a sort of panicked expression on his face. He probably feels he might have been offensive, jumping to conclusions, but Kenny is trying to look as though it's an easy and common mistake. His countenance settles into something stern, as though he's made up his mind, then the jumpy blonde nods. "Ngh! Ok. Sorry."

"It's no big deal. Anyways, Cartman is probably going to introduce me and the other guys as his friends. She probably won't trust me."

"Oh yeah. Good idea." Tweek moves past him to collect some dirtied dishes, "I wouldn't either."

"Woah! Hey! Take it back!"

Tweek shakes his head, and gives him a cautious smile. "The less time y-you spend around him, the better. He's bad for your image."

Kenny grins, "He's bad for everyone's image. He makes South Park look bad."

 

"You can stop talking about Clyde like that." Craig's nasally voice cuts in. Tweak lets out a terrified little shriek in surprise, then blinks, smiles, and greets his boyfriend easily. Clyde, Token, and Jimmy have walked in with him, but it seems only the handicapped boy heard Craig's remark. He snorts his laughter, then looks up at the board. Clyde and Token are having a heated debate about something else Kenny only catches the tone of.

"Dude! Your hood is down!" Clyde remarks and points at Kenny, who shifts behind the counter. He's not embarrassed, but it's one thing to feel exposed without his hood, and another to have the vulnerability pointed out. He's just always left it up as a comfort. It's only recently been lowered since he was reunited with Butters. He's starting to regret having it down, now that Clyde has pointed it out. No one really seems to pay it much mind aside from him, though.

"Did Cartman tell you about the party he's throwing?" Token asks the group, expression clearly unamused.

Kenny nods. Clyde narrows his eyes at him and stares, like he's waiting to hear his voice unhindered by fabric. Just for that, he's keen to hold back from saying much. Clyde's interest is making him feel uneasy.

"Why does everyone care so much about wh-what that asshole is doing?!" Tweek exclaims.

Still looking at Kenny, Clyde answers, "He's throwing a party at Token's."

Tweek throws his hands up, and moves to work on the dishes, while Craig approaches him, likely to help him out, or be a source of comfort, or just because he wants his boyfriend to know he's readily available for him. Kenny figures they'll both be attending the party as well, and he smiles at the thought. Like most of South Park, Kenny is comfortable by their visible, healthy relationship. Even when they have bumps, they work everything out, and it just always seems to make them stronger. He hopes he can spend more time with his own boyfriend, and have a healthy relationship as well. He thinks about how long he and Butters have been apart, and realizes that them getting together may be a bit sudden. Something about it just feels _right_. The only thing missing is the routine familiarity, and the proximity. It's a little dizzying how quickly he goes from feeling touched by witnessing a relationship to feeling lonely without his partner. It's also a little startling how much of the conversation he's spaced out of.

"-you going to impress her so much she leaves him for you?"

Jimmy grins, "Not if I sw-sw-sweee-sweeaa-sw-"

Kenny grabs a pastry out of the case on the counter for him and gets a takeaway cup out for Token. Their orders don't change much, so he's going to get everything they need so the conversation won't be put on pause.

"Not if I sweep her off her f-f-f-fuuh- feet first!" Jimmy grins victoriously, to which Token smirks. Kenny just tries to visualize Jimmy do that, and it's such a funny mental image, he starts to laugh.

"Token and I will just have to help you both get back up." He offers jovially.

Jimmy accepts the joke with a grin and a "n-n-nuh-nice," and watches as Kenny makes a latte for Token. Clyde is staring, but it's easy enough to ignore. Kenny's reminded now of why he doesn't like to take his hood down.

 

"Sorry about Cartman, dude. That's kind of a dick move. If you want, I'll come over and help you set up? Take over for Craig or whatever." Kenny glances over to the two, and upon hearing his name, Craig looks over.

It's arranged that Kenny can get off early to get ready and head over to the Blacks' house.

"Okay. Be over by six. The party is starting at eight, but we've got some cleaning to do." Token accepts his drink from Kenny, and then heads toward the door.

Clyde lags behind, then looks Kenny over, a soft frown on his face. "You should probably wear your hoodie there."

The smile on Kenny's face drops slightly as he watches them walk out and he touches his face, wondering what was meant by Clyde's comment. It couldn't have been made out of concern. It's always cold in South Park, so of course he'll have to wear his hoodie. But, it's not exactly freezing cold, so maybe it's just that Clyde doesn't like his face? Kenny looks over at Tweek and Craig, having a quiet conversation by the dishwasher. They didn't hear that, and it's not really worth bothering them over. Kenny just pulls his hood up and starts to put away what he's been working on. He cleans up after himself and heads towards the door with a wave to the couple left in the shop.

"See you at the party, guys."

"Yep! See you there!"  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had so much more, but I took a small break to make spam musubi, and windows decided to update, and I lost a big chunk of my writing :c


	17. a dip tray the likes of which he's never seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so late.

Just as he'd offered, Kenny shows up early to the Blacks' house to get a head start on cleaning and preparing for the evening's festivities. It's going to be a laid back party, probably because of the last-minute announcement, and mostly spent in the kitchen or in the back yard, where most of the party-goers will be drinking and enjoying the warmth of a bonfire. The weather is definitely cold enough, but it's not absolutely frigid. Kenny's attending in his usual outfit of worn-out blue jeans, and his traffic-cone orange parka. The fur-lined hood is up, and he occasionally tugs at the drawstrings out of nervous habit.

There isn't too much to be nervous about, though. Token greets him casually and comfortably, and directs him on what to do. Kenny hadn't been able to bring any refreshments or snacks, but what he lacks in supplies for the party, he more than makes up for in hard work while setting up, and helping to hide the items that Token doesn't want any other guests getting into. Neither him, nor Token socialize much directly, so while the atmosphere between them may not be tense, it isn't exactly comfortable. Stan and his group, and Craig's gang don't do a lot of hanging out together. There are only some social situations where they interact, and tonight will be one of those events. Still, Kenny is courteous, asks for direction on how Token wants everything set up, and starts to make punch while Token assembles a dip tray the likes of which he's never seen. The last time he saw something with so much snack food on it was when his father had been watching grocery store, Superbowl themed commercials.

Token's parents trust him to look after the house whenever they have business trips, and Kenny doesn't really want there to be any tension between their friend groups. He's taking it upon himself to be responsible for helping clean up the party. After all, he feels as Cartman's "BFF", he should shoulder some of the blame for the sudden party that was sprung upon Token.

 

While adding more ice cubes and ladling out cup-fulls of punch, Kenny tries to count out one for every person in attendance. "Is anyone else coming, aside from me and Stan's gang, and you and Craig's?" Kenny hopes there will be more girls than just Cartman's girlfriend. He can't begin to imagine how uncomfortable she may be if she's not only brand new to South Park, but surrounded by guys she's never met before. Maybe he's not giving her enough credit. She's got to be pretty tough to deal with Cartman's shit... unless he's manipulating her, which Kenny really wouldn't put past him.

"Yeah. The girls are coming over too. Nichole and Bebe, and maybe a few of their friends. It's not supposed to be a big party, so that's enough drinks."

Kenny looks down at the cup he's filling, and nods before setting out a bottle-opener, then changing a trash bag, and busying himself with tidying up. "Cartman is being pretty secretive about his girlfriend. Got any idea whether or not she's a local?"

"I don't know." Token gives a tired sigh at the question. "She probably isn't from around here. Nichole hasn't told me anything about her friends going out with him."

"Yeah," Kenny says, "I'm sure if one was, they'd all know and be talking about it. Probably trying to talk her out of it, or getting Heidi to do it."

Token seems pleased to hear Kenny lightly ripping on his friend, but it's understood by their entire group that Cartman is probably not a good person for any of the girls they know to be in a relationship with. He has a lot of changing to do, and he's definitely the most immature of their group. It's not like he has to change who he is, Kenny thinks. Cartman just has to grow up sometime. Mentally and emotionally. Even now that he's a big guy, looking more adult only does him so many favors when he wants to get his way. He's got to find someone that will act like his mom and be pushed over by him most of the time, someone who will want to pamper him, and who can be easily bossed around. It's either that, or someone who would assert so much authority that Cartman would have no choice other than to act somewhat considerate. Most of the time, he gets with people to take advantage of them, and the only person who doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with that is the fatass himself. Kenny feels he'll get a headache if he tries to imagine the perfect person for Cartman, so instead thinks about how his group of friends interacts.

Everyone rips on Eric Cartman. He's the biggest trouble-maker in all of South Park. The only reason Kenny hangs around him so much is that sometimes, his antics have such large outcomes that it can't be avoided, and sometimes, no matter how terrible what he does is, it's always entertaining. Sometimes, Kenny will encourage him to do horrible things, just so he can watch eagerly for Cartman to suffer the consequences. It doesn't matter that they are BFFs. It's an odd relationship, but like any kind Cartman has, it's somewhat unhealthy. Kenny doesn't regret being in Cartman's inner circle... most of the time.

Token probably enjoys watching their antics, but doesn't have the patience to participate. Kenny can't blame him, and thinks of how Craig's friend group acts. Clyde was strange today, and Kenny wonders if he should ask why. Before he can get the chance, the doorbell rings.

 

Cartman is at the door with a mousy young woman at his side. She's visibly timid, and from what Kenny can make out as he approaches the doorway, very soft-spoken and meek. He can hardly make out her voice over the sound of his overweight friend making some remarks about how the party is going to be the best. The closer to the doorway he gets, the more curious about this new person Kenny becomes. He's definitely never seen a girl like her around South Park, or anywhere in Colorado for that matter. Her hair is a near platinum blonde, and she's tall, her posture confident, but her averted gaze shy. How and where in the world did Cartman manage a catch like this? No wonder he was so eager to show her off.

"Kinny!"

His poorly pronounced name is like ice water, and it gives Kenny a small start as he looks up. Cartman claps his shoulder and looks from Kenny to his own girlfriend, grinning proudly. The gaze just demands that Kenny look back again, and once more, he's captivated. There's something about her... Something in her cheeks that gives her a youthful glow, or maybe it's the way she's dressed?

"Hey," Kenny sighs, noticing that the girl won't look at him.

"Fatass..." He turns his attention back to Cartman. "Who's this?" He feels bad for staring, but he can't help himself. This girl is not dressed at all appropriately for the weather, wearing a cute little sun dress, and having two blonde pig-tails. She looks like she needs a coat... or to come in. He steps back to motion her in, and Cartman happily accepts, asking Token (in a commanding tone), to get him a drink.

"This is Marjorine." Cartman watches them carefully, but Kenny can't blame him. With a girl this attractive, he'd probably be a little overprotective and possessive as a boyfriend too.

"Marjorine, this is Kinny." Cartman says and put an arm around the girl's waist.

She looks down, as though momentarily offended by his touch before looking up and into Kenny's eyes through her lashes. Marjorine is wearing some makeup, but it's the color of her eyes that make Kenny feel one side of his mouth quirk up in a dumb smile. She removes Cartman's hand, then curtsies, "Kinny."

The wind is knocked out of him and he's not sure if he just wheezed, or chuckled. Instead, he gives one of the strings to his hood a nervous tug, and effectively muffles "'s a pleasure."

Marjorine takes her boyfriend's hand and asks him to show her around, to which the fatass seems a little bothered by. It shouldn't be that much of an inconvenience... Kenny would happily show her around, and this isn't even his house.

 

"She's not from around here, huh?" Token asks as he joins Kenny at the doorway. Instead of getting Cartman a drink, he'd just fetched one for himself and for Kenny. He hands it over as the blonde boy tears his attention away.

"Ophmnhnhnn. Shh hmph hm mm phumphn, m'nn?."

"Way out of Cartman's league."

Kenny hums his agreement and drinks as he hears a knock on the door beside him.

 

"Is Cartman's girlfriend here?" Kyle asks as he looks around.

"Mmph, mn. Mm mph hm hmmnhmhmph mn hm hn?" Kenny asks.

Kyle moves right over towards where Cartman and Marjorine were just in the kitchen, clearly searching for them.

Stan sighs, "I think he wants to take her from him, dude. Apparently, Cartman's the main reason Kyle's never had a girlfriend, so he's going to get revenge or something." He walks with Kenny into the kitchen, which is empty, and picks up a solo cup. "I dunno. It's kind of dumb. I would just let him make his own mistakes, y'know?"

"Hn Mmphmm mmnphmm hm." Kenny says.

"Who is?" He hears a female voice ask, and looks over at Bebe.

"Hmph, Hmhm!" Kenny sings at her happily. She grins and he points some finger guns at her. 

Bebe giggles at Kenny's enthusiasm and the compliment she's walked into. She's already been outside, where she'd left her friends to see who else was at the party. "Who's the new girl outside?"

"Cartman's new girlfriend." Stan answers.

"No way!" Bebe gasps and stands on her toes to look around to try and spot the couple outside. The bonfire is going, but the sky isn't dark enough for it to actually illuminate anyone outside. She'd have to go back out to see them properly. "She does seem kind of odd."

"Well, she'd have to be to be dating him, you know?" Stan coolly remarks.

Kenny feels a little offended. She'd seemed nice, but it probably can't be helped. Everyone in their social circles around here aren't eager to welcome newcomers. "Yh. Hmhm, mn hmnhph mn hnhnnnph mn hmn hmph hm?"

"I'll think of something. She can definitely do better," She says with a wink towards him before grabbing an extra cup and heading towards the back door.

"So, hear anything from Butters today?" Stan asks.

Kenny sighs and pulls his phone out of his pocket. "Mnn. He mnph mm hmph mn hmhn ffhm hmph." Apparently Paris has him busy now that he's back. "Hff hmnhmm wff hm FffmHmph hff hm. Wff ph hmmphn phmn hm hn."

The black-haired boy makes a face, almost like he's trying to image how that would go, and the idea of Kenny and Butters FaceTiming seems to be making him uncomfortable. "Well uh, maybe you should set up a date or something? I don't know.."

"Hmnph rmm hmp Hmmnmh?" If Stan is going to ask about his relationship, then Kenny will return with the same sort of question.

"She doesn't like my music, but she doesn't understand, you know? We're taking a break. She says I need to figure out my priorities, and well... I think it may be for good this time." Stan visibly wilts, but that's not unusual given how on and off his relationship with Wendy is. Kenny reaches over and pats him comfortingly on the back of his shoulder. Then, he hands over his half-finished drink, which Stan happily finishes.

"Your hood is up." Stan points out. "You had it down the other day. What's up, only taking it down for Butters?"

"Iph hmm mn mhph mm ghff ah hmmn hhaff, mm hmph? Hff mmnphn hm nnf hf hmn. Fffhs mrph mm hff mph hmmn."

"Yeah. It feels weird if I don't wear my hat. I get it." Stan replies as he starts to walk into the kitchen. Most of the party has moved outside, and they watch as Kyle picks a fight openly with Cartman. Marjorine can be seen surrounded by Wendy, Bebe, and Nichole. They're laughing, and the meek blonde girl is giving them a nervous smile. Kenny wonders if Cartman and Kyle's fight will move to blows, and he makes a few mixed drinks with vodka.


	18. Vibe Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Butters POV for the party

Butters really isn't very comfortable in the wig Cartman gave him. He's worn plenty before, and definitely modeled a lot of Paris' clothes she's outgrown. Things that are no longer in fashion, and trends he liked, that she no longer considered fun, or professional. He and Cartman go out shopping, and it's actually more fun than he thought it would be. Cartman has taste in clothes that Butters was never aware of. He invited the other boy to dress-up too, but Cartman just made fun of him.

In the end, in the interest of saving money for the apartment, Butters has picked only three dresses. There are layers of his own and some outfits he'd brought with him for his trip he can work up into interesting styles. The clothes are not the difficult change so much as the wig. It's itchy, and he doesn't have a lot of hair to secure it in place with clips. Research on his phone has brought him to using some costume adhesive to attach it securely. Butters lets it hang down until Cartman tells him that it makes him look old. Oh well, maybe a few hair ties couldn't help.

In the end, he's dressed himself up, and Cartman walks right in without warning to alert him that they'll be attending a party at Token's. 

"Okay, so you're going to be my girlfriend."

"Ah- Eric! I dunno it's uh, kinda sudden and what about Kenny?"

Cartman scoffs. "If you're my girlfriend, I can help cover for you if he gets too close or suspicious."

"I don't really like lying to him, Eric. This is getting pretty out of hand..." Butters worries his knuckles together. "I just wanted to surprise him that I'm moving back here and we can spend more time together..."

Cartman yawns loudly for show, "The party is in a couple hours, so you'll have to put makeup on. You've got to be convincing, okay? Where are you from? What's your name?"

Butters blinks at him. This is all way out of nowhere. "Well-uh... oh geeze... Texas?"

"BahAHAHA! Okay! Good one, Butters." The accent isn't perfect, but then, most of the gang have never met anyone from Texas, so whatever.

"I'm a simple country girl. Don't uh... I don't know very much, since my daddy was really overprotective."

Cartman paces, tapping at his lip. "Your dad died in a cattle stampede when you came to South Park to do business. So I found you and saved you from an angry bull."

Everyone in town knows that the cows of South Park are some of the dumbest animals to ever exist. Butters shakes his head. "No. He was shot by the ranch-hand? I uh... I hid, and got lost. You found me, sure."

"Fine. He was shot. My version sounds more badass, though."

"Eric, what if he was trying to steal the cow?"

"Butters. It doesn't matter how. Your dad is dead, and you have to live with that. Can you do it?"

Maybe that will help to explain why he'll have to be so quiet. Butters doesn't want his voice to be a dead giveaway to his real identity. He nods, clears his throat, and tries to speak in a somewhat higher pitch. "My daddy wasn't a very good man, anyway..."

"Good, Butters. Now that you've got a backstory, you should probably try to look better. You want to look like an impressive girlfriend, right?"

Butters stammers, but ultimately agrees. He's going to have to go out and buy some makeup, but probably walk around as a girl for a while.

He returns later than expected, and Cartman is stomping about like an impatient toddler the entire time Butters does his makeup. "My name is going to be Margaret. You can call me Marge, though."

"Fine, Butters. Can you hurry up already so we can go?!"

"You can't rush this kind of work, Eric!" Butters huffs back as he puts on lipgloss and struggles with some false eyelashes. Just a hint of blush, and _there_. He gets up, brushes off his dress in case any makeup landed on the fabric, then turns to his "boyfriend".

Cartman is leaned against the wall nearest the front door, arms crossed over his thick chest. His annoyed expression falters as he looks Butters over, then approaches. He walks around him, circling and nodding. "Okay, yeah. It's not the best, but it will have to do. Let's go." 

It's clear that Cartman has never been much of a gentleman with ladies, or maybe it's just that he can't get past the fact that Margaret is actually Butters, and a guy, and Cartman definitely doesn't swing that way. Butters has told him there's nothing wrong with that, and that he wouldn't judge him, but the big guy just closed up and didn't want to talk about it. Butters has some suspicions that Cartman isn't as straight as he wants everyone to think he is. The door isn't held open for him once, and there isn't an ounce of chivalry shown to Margaret as they make their way to Token's.

In fact, Cartman doesn't try anything in his mannerisms that would peg them as being in a relationship until they're actually there. When he introduces Butters as Marjorine, it's clear he's either forgotten the name Butters gave himself, or is just being the usual asshole he's always been. Butters never really wanted to be called Butters, but he's sure their old classmate never wanted to be called 'Dog Poo' either.

It's harder than he expected to not reach out to or seek comfort from Kenny. Butters watches as he shifts uncomfortably, then muffles his voice, and he feels guilty. Maybe it is best if he spends more time around Cartman and does his best to avoid his actual boyfriend.

The boys notice him, sure, but no one pays as much mind as the other girls. Butters feels like a rabbit surrounded by foxes, and they throw question after question, criticism after criticism, and in the background, Cartman is arguing loudly with Kyle. It's overwhelming, and he tries to smile at them and answer with the story he's come up with, all with that same high-pitched southern twang to his voice.

Nichole is kind to him, but her eyes are judgmental. All the girls are looking at him the same way, and it feels like they pity him. Bebe approaches from inside, and there is such a charisma that comes off her, it's as though the other girls part without looking at her. She walks right up and boldly tells Marjorine to dump Cartman. _Oh_ so that's where the pity was coming from. Butters wants to laugh, and instead covers his mouth and gives a breathy giggle before shaking his head. "Oh, I couldn't. Eric has been so good to me. I really should stop him from fighting. It'll take me all night to calm him down if I don't." Butters stands and brushes the dress skirt before waving over to Kyle and Cartman.

"Oh Eric, sweety!" It feels weird to raise his voice even a little, so he approaches the two. Kyle turns first, and blinks at Butters. There's something in those eyes. Butters flinches, feeling the other recognize him.

" _Seriously?!_ Cartman! What the _fuck_?!" He raises a hand to hit Cartman, but Butters grabs it.

His grip isn't too tight, but it's the pleading in his voice that gives Kyle pause. "Please don't."

Kyle groans as though it physically pains him to hold back from fighting Cartman. "Dude. Kenny is _right_ there" He says under his breath.

Butters can feel his face flush and he shakes his head. "It was my idea too. Please don't say anything. I'll talk to him, okay? Please. I don't want to hurt Kenny's feelings."

Kyle looks at Butters, then at Cartman, then rolls his eyes. "Fine."

"Eric, you really shouldn't make a scene..." Butters says and reaches for Cartman's hand to try and go back to his role as comforting, supportive girlfriend.

Cartman pulls his hand back, clearly not interested, and calls out after, then follows Kyle, leaving Butters standing out by the bonfire.

"Oh geeze..."

"Are you okay, Marjorine?" Wendy asks.

Butters looks up from the fire, where he'd been holding his hands to warm up, and turns his attention. The girls are back, oh god. "Y-yeah... I just," He sighs. "I hate to see him so upset."

"You know, it's none of my business," Wendy starts, and the other girls disperse. Bebe hangs back, but she's companionable, not eager to butt in, but happy to listen and provide help should either girl need it. "But Cartman does tend to get like that a lot. Honestly, there are better guys around, if you'd like to meet with them. I'm sure they'd give you the kind of attention you deserve."

It's hard to tell if Wendy wants to insult his fake taste in men, or compliment him and tell him that he deserves better. Butters knows he does, and would rather spend time with Kenny. All the time with him. He looks up and around, searching for him.

"Yeah, like Kenny. He's been single for a while. He's really nice, too." Bebe offers.

"Why... uh," He clears his throat and tries to adjust his pitch again. Maybe the girls don't know that Kenny and Butters are together. How quickly does talk about them get around? "Why is he still single?"

"He's a really protective older brother." Bebe says. "It's apparently a thing guys do? I asked Red about it once, and she told me that Craig is super over-protective of his little sister too. It's probably that Kenny's realized that his baby sister is growing up, and he wants to keep everyone else away by being the one guy that's always around."

"So, he's still single?" Oops, that might have come across as being too eager.

"Yeah," Bebe says and sighs. "I mean, he used to be open with everyone, so he was never really in a closed relationship, y'know? I'm sure if you wanted to ditch that asshole, Kenny would definitely show you a good time."

"If uh... If you don't mind me askin', have you been with him?"

Bebe gathers her curly hair to one shoulder and looks over at Clyde, smiling at him warmly. "Yeah, but it didn't last long and wasn't what I was looking for. He's a great guy and all, but... not the right fit for me, you know?"

Clyde looks up from his animated conversation he's having with Jimmy and waves at Bebe.

"Excuse me for a moment," She says with a kind smile to Butters and Wendy before heading over to the brunette.

"She and Clyde are dating." She answers what Butters could feel himself wondering. Seeing how the two interact, it's very obviously a good fit. Bebe can easily join in the conversation between Jimmy and Clyde, as though she'd been a part of it the entire time. There's a comfort to how she leans against Clyde, and he has an arm around her like that is the way things have _always_ been.

"Nichole and Token are together, and Red is going out with Kevin."

"You're single?" Butters asks, then makes it a point to look her up and down. "Why?"

Wendy smiles, clearly flattered. "Oh, I've just known all these guys since we were children. They're like brothers to me now, and Stan and I have been dating off and on for a good while. I just think maybe it's not such a good fit anymore. I'm going to be moving away for college anyways, and I don't think I could do long-distance."

"Oh." Butters nods, interested and feeling a bit sorry for Stan. He'd always pinned them as a couple, but Stan isn't as much of an activist as Wendy is, and his focus isn't as clear cut as hers is. That, or it just changes too much. He thinks about how surprised he is to see everyone and how everything has changed. Maybe he can learn more about Kenny without interacting with him, and then maybe confront him about his relationship, or just see how he acts without knowing he's talking to his boyfriend in disguise.

"Kenny is hard to understand with his hood up..." Butters says softly, trying to show some interest in the one boy the girls have tried to direct his interest to.

"Oh yeah?" It's like the locals have never noticed that he's hard to understand. Maybe it's all the time spent in California that got Butters accustomed to hearing how people talk unhindered by puffy fabric right over their mouths. "I never noticed. Maybe you can convince him to take it down. I've always been a little curious about what his hair might look like..."

"What if it's all big and puffy?" Butters says with a giggle.

Wendy legitimately laughs at that. "Kyle's is like that!" She says with a warm smile.

"Most of the guys cover their hair, huh?" Butters asks.

"Yes, and it's probably because of the weather." Wendy observes.

"Speaking of, I'm going to head inside. Thank you for checking on me, Wendy." Butters offers an honest smile.

"No problem Margy," Wendy says, which earns her an excited lift of that well-meant smile. Butters likes that nickname the best and hopes it sticks. He's getting to be very comfortable with this identity, but it's all so he can observe. He needs to remember that. Maybe he shouldn't be talking to anyone... Eric and him agreed that he'd have to keep his stinkin' mouth shut if they weren't together, after all.

"Oh! Hhf! Mmnnh mmn?" Kenny is right in the doorway, a bunch of solo cups in each hand. Butters blinks his surprise and quickly looks down, then shakes his head.

"Mn hnn! Iph mnn hmmnhm!" The boy places one in his hands, then walks past him to hand drinks to the other girls. Butters is left in the doorway, curious about what Kenny actually said, and then if the drink is any good. After an experimental sip, he realizes that it's just vodka and juice, but the vodka is heavily watered down. He watches Kenny walk about, truly eager to chat with everyone, but courteous enough to maneuver around current conversations without interrupting. Yet still, everyone ends up with a drink, and it seems they're having a good time. Butters pulls out his phone and sends Kenny a text to check up on him, ask how his night is going, and tell him that he's going to be heading to bed, since he's had such a busy night. Just as soon as the text is sent and he's tucking his phone away, Cartman and Kyle show up. 

There's something unkempt in both their appearances. "Geez, Eric. Were you two fighting again?"

Before he can answer, Kyle looks around and interrupts, "So Kenny's outside?"

"Yeah."

"Butters, this isn't a good idea." Kyle sounds honestly worried.

He looks down, knowing he shouldn't have done this. "I know. I mean, I'll be real sorry if he finds out. And I didn't want to be a liar or nothin'. It just got messy, trying to surprise him and stuff, and I never thought I'd go to a party and see him."

"So Cartman, you wanted start some shit or something?" Kyle looks over at the larger boy, clearly annoyed.

"Eh! You've gotta admit he makes a pretty convincing girl!"

"Yeah, but you're parading him around as _your_ girlfriend in front of _his_ boyfriend!"

"Hey... Come on fellas... It's okay."

"It's not! What the fuck is your problem, fatass?! Why'd you bring him here? You know Kenny's going to be pissed!"

"Yeah! I'll bet. Wanna see if we can make him jealous, Butters? See if he's got the hots for you like this instead of as a boy?"

Butters is so shocked by that that he simply stammers a mild protest. It's so offensive...

Clearly, Kyle is still up to fight, and Butters honestly just needs this to stop. The arguing is making Cartman more likely to do something reckless.

"Eric. Now come on, stop. We just came here to have a good time. Remember your promise?"

Butters puts his hands up disarmingly and Cartman reaches to snatch his wrist up. "Ow! Eric-" he tries to pull away, because Cartman has that look on his face like he's going to try something that sounds funny, but would actually be pretty awful... like kiss him or something. His grip is really tight, and Butters is going to try and hit him to make him let go, but then Stan and Kenny walk back in through the porch doors. Butters freezes, and of course Stan and Kenny don't know his real identity, and they assume the worst with the body language.

Stan walks right up, hand held in a greeting wave with a smirk on his face as he takes Eric's hand from Butter's wrist. 

Kenny's moved way too fast behind the largest of the group, and Stan announces "Hey guys, vibe check!" On that mark, Kenny's boot swings up hard and collides square between Cartman's legs. He hits the ground, and Kyle jerks away, probably anticipating he'll get kicked as well, and Butters puts his hands to his mouth in a gasp.

Dusting his hands off, Kenny walks around and approaches Butters to look at his wrist.

" _Kinny, you stupid, poor, black asshole_..." Cartman grunts in pain on the floor and is easily ignored.

"Hn Mnhph?"

"Wh-what?" Butters blinks, looking down at his fake boyfriend before glancing at his real one.

"Hn Mnhph?"

... Nope, still not entirely sure he can make out that question. It's probably something along the lines of 'you hurt?' 'you okay?' 'wanna leave?' but Butters doesn't want to answer a question he doesn't even understand.

Kenny sighs and reaches into his hood, tugging to loosen how the drawstrings have cinched fabric over his mouth. "What happened?"

"Oh! Uh, well... I uh... oh geeze. I better go!" Butters says and hands Kenny back the drink he'd given him before walking quickly out of the house through the living room. He turns and shuts the door behind him, knowing no one followed him, and sighs. After a second to take a breath to calm down, he turns and bumps right into a dark-haired man with almond-shaped eyes, and gives a startled squeak.

"Butters! Wow! I haven't seen you in ages!" Kevin Stoley gasps.

What the fuck. How could Kevin Stoley tell _immediately_? Maybe because of all the cosplay he's seen? Butters imagines he would be the type to cosplay and take photographs of costumes. He did always like to dress up when they were kids.

"D-Don't call me that, please." He says softly.

"Oh? Sorry. Well, what's your name, m'lady?" Kevin asks, playful smile on his face.

"Margaret. You can call me Margy, though, if you'd like."

"Okay! So, why the change? If uh... that's not rude? Shit, sorry. It's none of my business. You don't have to answer that. If you feel like you can be you as Margy, then Butters never even existed!"

Butters stares for a moment before shaking his head. "Wow, Kevin. No... You've got it all wrong. I mean, I sure do appreciate you accepting me and all, but this is uh... promise to keep a secret?"

Kevin nods and looks eager.

"It's a disguise."

"Oooooh. What's the mission objective?"

Butters sighs and smiles cautiously. Kevin still seems as big a nerd as he did when he was younger. "I just want to go home, Kevin."

"I'll take you." Cuts in a sharp, angry voice from behind the nerdy guy.

"R-Red?" Butters asks.

"Oh. Butters? Oh, it's just-" Red starts, sounding relieved.

"It's _Margy_ now." Kevin corrects.

Red side eyes her boyfriend, then shrugs. "Whatever. I'll take you home. Kevin, get inside and try not to piss anyone off, okay?" She looks so stern that Butters is too intimidated to object, but the second Kevin gives her a kiss on the cheek before heading inside, Butters catches how her expression softens.

"I'm really sorry. That uh... probably worried you. I wasn't flirtin' with him or nothin'." Butters nervously assures.

"Don't worry about it. Where am I taking you?"


	19. Do you know what was in your purse?

"So, When did you get back in town, Butters?"

They've been driving for a bit now, the radio filling the near-uncomfortable silence in the car with ads and random songs from the eighties, nineties, and 'today'. Butters looks up from his phone, where he's been having a text conversation with Kenny about Cartman, and over at the red-head driving her car towards his apartment complex on the other side of town.

"Oh," Butters feels like the days have all bled together quickly. First, he went to Denver, then Kenny died and came back, then Butters went hunting for apartments with Cartman, and that all took at least a week? It's gone by too quickly, but he's embarrassed to admit that "It's been about a week."

"Wow, and you didn't reach out to anyone? Rude." The words could come across as offended, but Red doesn't seem even a little bothered that she isn't in the loop about Butters being spotted back in South Park. In fact, she's smiling. They've never been very close, so it's really none of her business, and she seriously won't judge him for only reaching out to select people. 

"Well... I ran into Kenny in Denver, at the mall. He's the real reason I'm back. We're uh... seein' each other now."

"Hm, were you in this kind of get-up, too?"

"Get-up?" Butters looks down at his dress. 

"Yeah. Why are you in a dress?"

Butters rubs his knuckles together. "I uh... well... I hate to go around lyin' to everyone. Promise you'll keep it a secret if I tell ya why?"

Red glances at him, notices that he's fidgeting, and wonders if he's told anyone else the truth. It's flattering to be a confidant. "Sure."

"I'm hiding from Kenny until I get the apartment ready. I wanna share it with him. He thinks I'm back in California with Paris Hilton." He's clearly tense admitting this, and knows that what he's doing would probably hurt his boyfriend's feelings. Kenny misses him, after all. He can tell by his texts, and by the way he's told him about the party, and how he can't wait to bring him to a party.

Red lets out a soft whistle. "That's one hell of a surprise." She looks over at him, really taking in the costume and wondering how no one else has been able to identify him yet.

Butters looks out the passenger window idly and realizes that they're parked in the complex. He unfastens his seat belt and shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "Yeah. Eric thought it would be best if I showed up in disguise so that I could keep an eye on him."

"If Kenny found out, he'd probably think you're spying on him."

"I'm not! I trust him real well, and I didn't see him flirtin' with anyone or anything!"

Red looks doubtful, but shrugs. She's seen Kenny flirt every time he opens his mouth. He may not get in bed with anyone anymore, but that doesn't stop him from teasing people he's had past relations with. "I won't tell anyone that you cross-dressed to hide from your boyfriend." She frowns, realizing that Cartman is a fellow confidant. Only someone like him would convince Butters to cross-dress in front of his former class-mates. Maybe it's a good thing that no one really recognized him.

"Thanks, Red. I'll tell Kenny everything once I finish gettin' our place set up. I don't wanna keep lyin' from him. You won't tell anyone else you saw me or nothin', will you?"

"Nah. I'll just tell them that I took the new girl back to her place. You don't need a paparazzi in South Park."

"Thanks. Oh, I hope I'm not worrying anyone."

"It's okay. You were around Cartman. That's a good enough reason to bail."

Butters lets out a small chuckle "Heheh yeah. Thanks again."

  


Kenny looks down at his phone, at Butters response to the picture he'd taken of Marjorine, asking if his boyfriend had a mysterious twin sister. There's a compliment about her, and Kenny hopes that Cartman's girlfriend is better now that she isn't around him at the moment. Kenny leaves his large friend on the floor in the kitchen, where Kyle is berating him, and Stan's having a good laugh at his expense, to ask around for Marjorine's whereabouts. None of the girls know, so he thanks them, and then heads around to ask any other party goers.

"Oh, Red and I bumped into her outside. Hang on." Kevin Stoley pulls his phone out, then sends a text and waits for a response. Kenny looks about, clearly feeling a bit guilty for scaring the new girl off. "Red took her home. She wasn't feeling well."

"Thanks, Kevin." Kenny adjusts his hood, then lowers it and walks back in to check on his friends and maybe snap a picture of Cartman to send to Butters so that he can see what he's missing. Unfortunately, when he rounds the corner from the living room to the kitchen, all he has to send to his boyfriend is Kyle and Cartman having an argument. That's not worth sending. He closes his phone and listens in while grabbing a new drink.

"-girls don't like it when you try to hang onto their stuff as collateral, shithead," Stan remarks. 

Cartman has Marjorine's purse in his hand, and a cocky smirk on his round face. "Well now she _has_ to talk to me to get it back. Then, that will open up communication between us, and that's all chicks really want."

Kyle rolls his eyes, "Since when did you have any clue what girls want, fatass?"

"I happen to know a lot about what girls want, Kahl! You've never even had a girlfriend!"

"Because you keep telling people that we're together, you asshole!"

Ugh, not this again. Any time someone brings up relationships, Kyle and Cartman bicker louder. Kenny can understand why Kyle's so upset. He'd be pissed off too if he had someone like Cartman constantly cock-blocking him. Luckily for him, being down to fuck whoever whenever most of the time has paid off. Also, not rising to all of Cartman's bait to argue has helped out. He doesn't fight with him as much as everyone else. Kenny is good at minding his own business when he knows it will benefit him. He's going back outside to relax by the bonfire and text his boyfriend before all of the arguing gets him a headache, or worse, involved as back-up for either of the two.

"Hey Kenny, I heard you're dating Butters!"

Kenny looks up to see a flushed, jovial Clyde with his arm around Bebe. She's definitely helping keep him upright, but it looks like she's struggling, probably because her boyfriend is doing some odd mix of swaggering and stumbling about in his path towards the poor blonde boy. Kenny sets down his drink and turns a little to smile at the happy couple. "Oh yeah? Who told you that?"

Clyde seems taken aback, but it's probably because of hearing Kenny unmuffled by his hood. Or maybe he's wondering if he heard wrong. "Tweek?" He asks, like he's not even certain who he's been gossiping with.

Kenny gives an approving laugh. "Oh shoot, now everyone is going to learn that I'm off the market!" He winks at Bebe, and she giggles, then shakes her head. "You should have brought him here! Where is he?" She asks, looking eager.

"No dude. More importntly-" Clyde definitely seems more comfortable, or maybe he's just interrupting so that there's less interaction between Kenny and his girlfriend. Maybe he thought Kenny would threaten his relationship with Bebe.

"..." Bebe and Kenny wait expectantly, but Clyde seems to have lost his thought upon interjecting.

"He's back in California with Paris Hilton." Kenny supplies, acting as though that doesn't make him lonely.

"You should go there! They're totally loaded!" Clyde exclaims.

"Butters would take such good care of you, Kenny," Bebe says, and clearly she feels torn between not wanting her friend to leave and wanting him to go actually experience a life where he won't have to struggle in such a poor financial situation.

"Actually, I don't think Butters is loaded or anything, but he probably could be?" Kenny says with a nonchalant shrug. He takes his drink and sips off of it. He's not in a relationship with Butters for the money. He's with Butters because he makes him happy. 

"You mean you don't know?" Clyde doesn't sound like he believes Kenny. Why wouldn't Butters be loaded if the woman who raised him used to be a billionaire?

"He _has to_ be rich." Bebe agrees with her boyfriend. "Paris Hilton paid a million dollars to take him from his parents." Bebe supplies that gossip as though it's common knowledge.

The rest of their friends are hanging around, listening for the most part, but Kyle interjects. "No it was definitely like... a hundred million dollars."

Unfortunately for the rest of them, Cartman has decided to join the conversation. He was probably drawn towards hearing large sums of money. "How much is Butters worth to Paris Hilton?"

"Pretty sure it was more than one hundred million," Token offers. 

"You should text and ask him, Kinny," Cartman says with a hungry grin.

"No way, dude. That's rude! What if your parents sold you! Would you want to talk about it?"

"N-No! Ugh that's fucked up, man!" Tweek nearly shouts. 

There's an understanding that Tweek's parents used to threaten to sell him when he was a child. Given that the Stotch's already did that with their son, it's a bit of a taboo to bring that up, so the conversation dies away. There's money hunger in Eric Cartman's eyes, and Kenny knows he's going to be nagged to ask Butters again what figures exactly his parents made from handing him over to a celebrity. He pulls out his phone to distract himself, and discovers that his boyfriend has texted him that he's going to sleep and will talk to him in the morning.

  


Hours later, when Butters is getting ready for bed, he hears a text notification and hurries to his phone, only to be disappointed to discover that it's from Eric Cartman. He sighs slumps down on his bed, then realizes how grateful he is to be friends with Eric when he reads that he's left his purse behind, but that Eric will bring it to him in the morning. Oh! How considerate.

Going through his texts, Butters looks over the hearts Kenny sent him, as well as a fire-lit selfie from the party where he's blowing him a kiss. Butters hugs his phone, locks it, then sets it on his bedside table. All he has to do for the apartment is finish furnishing it, and then he'll contact Kenny to surprise him. Hopefully, the five days between leaving Kenny and setting up a new place for him won't be too long of a wait.

Despite going to bed in a great mood, fully looking forward to the day, Butters is woken abruptly at 10 am by the sound of someone banging aggressively on his front door. Oh yeah, Eric did say he'd be by in the morning. He sure is knocking awfully hard. Doesn't he have a copy of the key?

Butters gets out of bed and goes to the door. Before he can even reach the knob or look through the peep-hole, the door is bursting open, and Eric Cartman staggers into his living room. He closes the door behind him and locks it with shaking hands.

Completely baffled by the sight of Eric, covered in bruises, muddied jeans, and a ripped shirt, Butters steps back and watches. "Eric!" He exclaims in pure concern. "What happened?" Eric is leaning his weight on the table by the door like the strength has been beaten out of him. He's got a hand on his chest and he looks rattled.

"Oh god, Butters."

"What? Eric! Are you okay?" He's panicking a little. He doesn't like it when someone needs help, but he's not sure what kind to provide. "S-Sit down! I'll get you a first-aid kit!" The blonde boy hurries back down the hall to rummage through a medicine cabinet.

With Butters out of the room, Cartman has a seat on one of the new couches and stretches languidly while calling out. "Hot chocolate! Please, Butters. Please, I'm so cold." He adds a dramatic plea to his request, then grabs a throw blanket off the back of the couch.

Butters hurries back, sets down the kit, then goes to the kitchen to make them both a mug of hot chocolate. He's also filling a basin with warm water, and has a washcloth in hand. When he returns, Eric looks to have settled down some. "H-Here," he offers the cloth and basin, then takes a sip of his own hot chocolate, hoping it will calm his nerves, since Eric effectively rattled them.

Cartman drinks, grimaces, then starts to dab at his dirtied arms where there are very minimal scrapes, despite the damage his clothing has sustained.

"Eric, what happened? You scared me half to death!"

"I was mugged." Cartman replies, sounding embarrassed and serious while setting his mug down.

"We should call the cops!" Butters says, hands to his mouth, knuckles pressing together so his thumbnails push on his lower lip.

"N-No... I will. I saw what those bastards looked like."

"Did they hurt you real bad? Should I take you to a hospital?" Butters looks his friend over with even more concern that he'd felt before. What if there are worse injuries than what they can see?

"No. They just took your purse."

Butters blinks. "Oh! Is that all? I'm just happy you're not hurt too bad! Hang on, Eric... I'll go get you some ice for those bruises..."

"Butters... do you know what was in your purse?" Cartman asks as the tall blonde is making his way back to the kitchen.

He stops dead in his tracks, "Uhm... my ID and... uh... uh-oh.. Oh hamburgers!!!"

"What?" Cartman asks, eyes narrowing.

"Paris is gonna be so sour at me!! I've gotta freeze all the cards!" Butters panics.

"No, Butters! Wait!"

"Huh?" He looks over his shoulder at Eric, who lifts the damp cloth to a tear on his shoulder and grimaces as he stands.

"I'll go to the cops, report the attack, and they can use the cards to track the bastards that did this."

"Well... I guess." Butters sounds uncertain.

"Don't you want to get justice?"

Butters nods. "Of course I do. What if those fellas that mugged you attack someone else?" Cause if they could beat Eric Cartman up that bad, they'd do worse to anyone else. Eric isn't exactly a small, weak guy.

"Okay. I'm gonna use your bathroom, then I'll go back out."

Cartman is busy for a while, but when he comes back into the living room, he's wearing more band-aids than is really necessary. Butters puts their mugs up, then follows his friend to the door. "Please be careful, Eric."

"I will. Those crooks are still out there, after all. And hey, Butters?"

"Yeah, Eric?"

"Sorry about your purse and stuff."

"Well, gee Eric. It's not like it's your fault. I shouldn't have picked something out that looked so gaudy." Never mind that the purse was more of a black leather clutch with next to no details on it.

"It's okay, Butters. I forgive you. Lay low for a while. I don't want them to use any of your information to hunt you down and gang-bang you in your own living room." And Eric has left the apartment.

Butters spends most of his day either worrying about Eric's safety, or his own every time he hears someone go through the apartment halls. There's very little in the way of distractions, as he's misplaced his phone, and so he's watching the news, wondering if he'll see anything about what Eric is going through. Dang, he really should have gotten a description of the guys that mugged Eric, so that he could keep his eyes peeled.


End file.
